'So Sehun's mated to Tiffany and Tao has his powers?' Suho raised his eyebrow skeptically, obviously not believing a single word.

Tao couldn't blame him either – his idiot of a Shadow was running around, messing with Luhan, like everything was sunshine and rainbows and Kai, now back to normal, was busy texting with Tiffany. None of them was behaving in a way that would credit Tao's assertion.  

They were sitting in Tao's room, the much required family meeting underway. Baekhyun sighed, rubbing a hand across his face.

'He's been blowing things away every time he sighs or sneezes and I don’t think you can explain that away.' That being the Tao had been sporting since his interaction with Tiffany earlier in the shop.

Suho still looked skeptical so Baekhyun gestured for Tao to prove it. Tao sighed, ruffling the pages of the journal in front of him, before lifting his fingers and snapping. Instead of stopping time – which was his actual power, he might add – a huge gust of wind blew straight into Suho's face, pushing his hair back and making his eyes water.

'Ooookkkaayyy…' Suho dragged the word out, patting his hair down and staring at Tao like he was a mystery. 'Do Kai and Sehun know?' He asked.

'Do they look like they know? Why are you being an idiot?' Baekhyun snapped, irritated.

Tao sighed again, but covered his mouth so everything wouldn’t blow away. 'Sehun's been pushing his feelings into me for some time now – I think he's scared and he doesn’t know what to do so he's…'

'Turned you into a windmill?' Baekhyun completed for him, earning snickers from Chanyeol and Lay, the two who'd silently joined the meeting. Tao glared at Baekhyun before focusing back on Suho. 'I tried talking to him before but he was already messed up because of the maturing thing; he was terrified when I brought up the fact that he was going through the first fever.'

'He's in denial.' Suho stated.

'No , Sherlock.' Baekhyun cracked, earning another round of snickers. 'Whether the little is in denial or not, it's not going to change the fact that he's mated.'

'Is it even possible, though?' Chanyeol wondered aloud. 'He's still growing, physically, so he's not mature yet…'

'The fever can occur any moment after the onset of maturity,' Lay spoke up. 'It could even be that being near his mate started the maturing in the first place.'

'Dude, why do you keep these sorts of things to yourself?' Baekhyun complained loudly, ruffling Lay's head affectionately, who smiled sheepishly, 'I forgot.'

'So I figured.' Baekhyun grinned at his Shadow before turning back to Suho. 'So? What're you gonna do about it?'

'Me?' Suho asked, looking surprised.

'Yes you. Are you the leader or not?'

Suho grumbled under his breath, whining about how his duties weren't getting any easier and why did he always have to end up with the worst matters? How the hell was he going to deal with the situation???

'We need to talk to Kai, for one thing.' Chanyeol spoke again, 'Tiffany's his girlfriend and I don't know if any of you noticed but he's pretty damn serious about her.'

Suho bit his lip, a worried frown appearing between his eyes. 'True… I thought it was a good thing – especially after Mei but…'

'And Sehun… why is he running away again?' Baekhyun groused. 

'He's just a cub, cut him some slack!' Suho defended the youngest, then sighed. 'I don't think we have to worry about him, though – denial or not, this isn't something he can just run away from. He'll figure it out sooner rather than later. It's Kai I'm worried about… and Tao.'

Tao, who'd been leaning his head comfortably on Lay's shoulder, straightened in surprise. 'Me?' Suho chuckled at his tone, ruffling his hair. 'Of course you… your own powers are getting suppressed because of Sehun's – you have to push him away.'

Tao sulked. 'But he's stronger than me…'

'I know.' Suho sighed. 'But you have to try. He needs to face his problems, not push them on you.'

Tao nodded but frowned. 'I've tried…'

'Tell you what, talk to Xiumin!' Suho snapped his fingers. 'He can guide you how to regulate the link!'

Every Legend's link with their Shadow was unique, based on the dynamics of their relationship. Some, like Luhan and Kai, were very closely attached while others, like Suho and Xiumin, were rather distant, so that each had some level of privacy in their emotions, yet could share any time they wanted to. Tao and Sehun came under the former category, very close and not at all used to keeping things away from each other. It hadn't been a problem until now.

'I'll talk to him.' Suho assured Tao, then stood up. 'I guess that's all?'

'What about D.O?' Baekhyun asked. They'd seen the note he'd left, so they knew he'd come back but still, Suho was a worrier and Baekhyun took great pleasure in reminding him of things he needed to worry about.

Suho's mouth turned down an upset scowl. 'He'll come back. That's all that matters.'

'What if Evil shows up?' Baekhyun, not satisfied with the response, tacked on. It was his job to make sure the leader didn't slack in his duties.

'We have Lay, he'll tell us if that happens. And if Evil's stupid enough to approach D.O, he deserves getting his kicked back to Abyss.' Suho ground out, annoyance and worry written all over his face. Satisfied with his work, Baekhyun stood up and stretched. 'Hookhay! Let's go guys, I'm getting hungry!'

……………………….

Lily watched Xiumin's expression with interest – it was a unique blend of want and denial, acceptance and rejection, terror and joy, the emotions rolling one after the other over his usually stoic face. She wondered what was being said to him to elicit such a response.

They were in his apartment now, having closed up the shop after his brothers left. She'd enjoyed the interaction – they were always such a rowdy bunch and today had been no different. Except for Kai's rather… amatory behavior, though she couldn't blame the guy. Tiffany was one heck of a y girl.

But the better part was watching his brothers react. Sehun had gotten this strange look on his face, like he really didn't like where everything was going and Tao had literally jumped out of nowhere between the two. It had provided quite the sight before Xiumin had asked her to take Raina away while he dealt with his 'idiot of a brother'.

She still hadn't figured out if Kai had been high on adrenaline because of his earlier wrestling or if it was simply his libido. She sort of thought it was the latter – the guy was dripping in appeal, it wouldn’t surprise her if he had that much enthusiasm.

She grinned, wondering why she was thinking about Kai's libido – it was probably Raina's fault, for providing such an entertaining commentary on the entire situation, after sliding beside her when Lay had decided to help Xiumin peel Kai off from Tao, whom he'd obviously mistaken for Tiffany.

'Fine, I'll do it – though I don’t know what you expect.' Xiumin groused and hung up.

'Everything okay?' She asked and he jumped as if startled. He stared at her for a moment with a strange look on his face.

'Yes.' His reply was curt and she frowned, wondering why he was being rude. It wasn't like she expected anything but a monosyllabic answer – he didn't speak much and he didn't involve her in his personal matters – but he didn't need to use that tone.

She stood up with a huff. Whatever had crawled up his was none of her business. Obviously. 'I'm going to shower.' She announced and left.

………………………….

Xiumin watched her leave, feeling like a jerk for being unnecessarily rude. The best thing about Lily was she didn't bug him about anything – if he felt like sharing, he could but she wouldn't ask for it, nor complain about the lack thereof. He knew that but still, he'd snapped at her.

When he'd been angry at himself. Because the news Suho had given him, that Tao would be coming over – maybe even staying with him for a couple of weeks until he learned everything – was making him happy. Gah, he was so ed.

Despite his constant effort to keep himself as aloof as possible, his heart kept shrugging off the emotionless blanket he forced over it, filling him with warmth when he needed to stay cold. He didn't want to hurt, he didn't want to feel, why was his heart being so rebellious? Didn’t it understand that he was doing everything for its protection?

He sighed, sitting down heavily. That still didn't justify snapping at her like that and he was thinking he needed to apologize when her cell phone rang. He let it ring for a while, hoping whoever it was would let it go. But when the phone kept ringing, he took a peek at the caller id. Mom.

Picking up the cell, he headed to the washroom and knocked. The shower stopped, then Lily replied. 'Yeah?' Crap, she still sounded pissed off.

'Your mom's been calling nonstop…'

The door clicked open and she peeked out, steam coming out in tendrils behind her, her wet hair hanging in long strands around her face, one shoulder poking out as she hid behind the door. She glanced at the phone apprehensively.

'She probably wants to know about the date…' Lily's face scrunched with distaste, looking absolutely horrified about the prospect. And Xiumin came up with the perfect way to make up for snapping at her.

'How about I handle her?' He offered. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was suggesting. 'Don't be stupid. It's one thing to joke with your friends but not my mom…'

'You'd rather keep getting set up for horrible blind dates?' He knew he'd hit the mark when she pursed her lips in a straight line. She resisted for a second, obviously not wanting to forgive him just yet but the cellphone rang again, insistent, harsh and she sighed. 'Fine. Just… do whatever.'

She shut the door and he hit answer. 'Hello?'

…………………………

'You did it, didn't you?' Tiffany gasped. Mei's blushing face was an answer enough.

'OH MY GOD!!!' she squealed, not sure whether to hug her friend or break her head for actually taking her advice. She'd been joking, for heaven's sake. Mei blushed even harder. 'We didn't do anything…'

'Liar!' No one looked like that after a simple make-out session – that was post-ic bliss and besides, she'd seen the way they'd kissed before Luhan had gone away after dropping her off. Hello, new lovers! It was all cute awkwardness and jumpiness at the slightest touch.

'Geez!' Mei buried her face in her hands. 'I don't know what we did, we just…'

'What? Did he put it in the wrong…mmph!' Mei muffled her words with a cushion. 'Just shut up already.'

'How can I?' Tiffany poked her head out from underneath the cushion. 'You're just asking for it – I mean, how can you not know whether you got the d… ommph!'

Mei pressed her palm tightly, glaring at her. 'Excuse me for enjoying myself!' She snapped, feeling peevish. She'd been too dazed by the pleasure, truthfully, and had only realized later – after he'd brought her back – that they hadn’t actually done the deed, that Luhan had kept their pants on despite everything.  

She'd woken up to the sounds of doors banging roughly and realized she was lying, half , on top of Luhan, one of his hands buried in her hair and the other resting on her the small of her back. She'd woken him up in her efforts to get up and put on her top – her bra was still lost somewhere in his room – and had, thankfully, been decent when Sehun had banged the door open. It had been embarrassing nonetheless, although Luhan acted like it was nothing unusual.

'How can you be so cruel???' Tiffany whined pathetically, pushing her hand away and glaring at her. 'When you know what I'm going through!' Meaning that Kai won't touch her even if she took of her shirt and danced in front of him… wait, she hadn't tried that…

'Seriously?' Mei looked at her incredulously.

'What? I wanna get laid too,' Tiffany pouted, then cheered up, 'and now I don't have to worry since you already went to third base!'

Then she wiggled her eyebrows. 'So… was he really that good?'

Mei felt like her head was on fire but she nodded, not meeting her eyes. Tiffany whistled, sitting up. 'Did you…?' She wiggled her brows again, winking. 'You know… see the stars?'

She'd seen the entire universe, truth be told, found god and the secret to nirvana and everything in between. She blushed even harder than before. 'How many times?'

She'd lost count. Tiffany stared at her, bug-eyed, and fanned herself.

'Can I interest you in threesomes?' She asked, making Mei groan and strangle her friend.

'Stick with your man!'

Tiffany giggled. 'Okay but can you ask Luhan to share some tips? For your friend's happiness?'

'Can you stop talking?' Mei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She didn't know what to do period. She felt happy and yet a bit like she'd lost something precious. Could be her innocence – no one could remain innocent after they heard Luhan their name like that. She fanned herself, feeling her entire body heat up at the thought. She changed the topic. 'You tell me, how was the party?'

It was Tiffany's turn to blush and not meet her eyes. 'What?' Mei demanded, recognizing the guilt on her friend's face. 'What happened?'

Tiffany muttered something unintelligible. Mei frowned, leaning closer. 'Spit.' She demanded. Tiffany gulped and met her eyes.

………………………

'So it was an accident.' Mei stated. Tiffany nodded. 'Yeah, I guess…'

'And you still think you betrayed Kai… why is that again?'

'I…' Tiffany swallowed, not sure how to say it. She closed her eyes and just went for it.

'It was like the true love's kiss.' She mumbled. Mei didn't say anything and when Tiffany peeked one eye open, her friend looked thoughtful.

'You mean like fireworks-exploding-feet-not-touching-the-ground-touching-your-soul kind of kiss?' she asked seriously. Tiffany nodded miserably. Mei's eyes bugged.

'He's your One!' She breathed.  

Tiffany buried her head in her knees. 'But I felt the same with Kai!'

'Did you really?' Mei asked, a bit skeptical. Tiffany didn't reply and Mei let that answer for itself.

Personally, she'd always thought Tiffany's crush on Kai was based on her idealized vision of a nice guy – not that Kai didn't fit it perfectly, he was pretty darn nice and she'd kill anyone who said otherwise – and previous string of bad relationships. Of course that didn't mean the girl wasn’t head over heels for him but still, she was chasing after an ideal she didn’t think she deserved.

 And Kai, even though he'd recently begun to be more affectionate with her – it showed in the way his eyes lit up around her – had latched onto her as the nearest person who'd take care of his broken heart. It hadn't been deliberate, on either side, but you couldn't deny that the foundation of their relationship had been shaky. They'd stabilized it over time, she had no doubt, and genuinely cared each other but maybe… just maybe, they weren’t it.  

Besides, she'd seen the way Sehun reacted to Tiffany. Oh sure, he was mean to her but Sehun was the definition of brat and he went about trying to get her attention by acting like one, standard elementary kid tactics. Geez. And he always reacted whenever Kai and Tiffany began to get lovey-dovey in front of him.  

Add the true love's kiss – and it happened only with The One; she should know, she'd experienced it with Luhan – and it was no wonder Tiffany was feeling so darn confused.

She felt for Kai, though. Poor guy, having his heart broken… she still felt guilty about that, though she'd do it all over in the blink of any eye for Luhan. But she hadn't been it for Kai and Tiffany wasn't either.

Nonetheless she was sure he would find someone who would make him forget about everyone else and make sure he never suffered through a heartache again. For now, she'd hope her support and his brothers would be enough to keep him from completely breaking down, like Tiffany had been enough to stop his spiral into sadness.

Sehun and Tiffany, though… they had their work cut out for them, what with the bad blood and stubborn feud between them. They were both hard-headed idiots who didn't know when to give up and It would be quite the drama, she was sure of it, one she really wanted to see unfold.

'Well, there's nothing you can do about it.' Mei finally told her. 'If it's the true love's kiss, then trust me, things will fall into place. Just talk to them and if that doesn't satisfy you, you can go ahead and kiss them again, see if it happens the second time…'

Tiffany's eyes expanded. Usually she was the one suggesting preposterous things, not Mei. 'Kiss them… as in, both of them??? Sehun and Kai, them?'

Mei grinned. 'What was it that you said about threesomes?'

Tiffany threw a cushion at her, blushing. 'Shut up.'

……………………

A/N

So... mostly aftermath in this one. Nothing much happening... Mei planned on spamming Luhan again with me but she's kinda busy so we'll probably do that at a later time. 

I wanted to add something with regards to Xiumin's character. Its my deepest, darkest secret but I'll share because I trust my readers. Okay... 

Xiumin is Elsa and as proof, I present to you Xiusa? Minsa? Elmin? O_o whatever, check it out

(Xiumin is so pretty. And chen frost is so, so handsome, aigoo, my heart >////<)

(This picture gives me so many feels)

 (Omg, I'll post this picture again in Xiumin related chapters, this is SO good! Thank you, whoever made this)

Jokes aside, he is based after Elsa - especially the whole keepng-emotions-in-check thing because... well, Elsa's pretty cool, right? (see what I did there? no? okay :P) I invested a lot in his character so I would love to hear your opinions on that. We haven't really gone into his story yet but when that comes, I'll be asking again. :)

Until later then, bye ^^