'A group date?' Tiffany arched a brow at Mei.

'Yeah.' Mei nodded enthusiastically. 'It's been ages since we hung out.'

Mei was feeling a bit sorry for Tiffany, who hadn't had a decent date in ages – since that accidental kiss, in fact. Plus, after talking to Luhan, she felt bad for pushing both of her friends – they were adults, they knew what they were doing right? Sehun could always find someone else, the way girls threw themselves at him.

So, she wanted to act cupid for once and get them back together – like Tiffany had done for her and Luhan. Whatever problems they had, they couldn't settle them by avoiding each other and maybe going out would help them get back into the feel of their relation.

Hence, the genius idea for a group date.

'I… guess. It sounds fun.' Tiffany nodded, smiling a little. 'So, you and Luhan and us?'

'We could do that but I was thinking we could invite the others as well. Lily and Xiumin, Angel and Suho, and…'

'Hmm?'

'Well, I was thinking we'll invite Raina and Lay as well.' Mei giggled, Tiffany joining in. 'Ooh, let's, please. I'm getting tired of her wistful staring at him all the time.'

'I know, right! We'll leave them alone, okay?'

'Deal.' Tiffany giggled. 'Anyone else?'

'Um… no, I don't think so? I don't know if any of the guys have girlfriends or not… do you?'

'Nope. Okay, where are we going?'

'There's this skating rink…'

Mei elaborated the plan and Tiffany added her own two-bits, both girls getting super-excited at the prospect of spending the entire day dedicated to having fun. In the end, they decided to just invite everyone else along as well because the more the merrier and it'd be more fun to have everyone around.

'Okay, we'll talk to the girls and then, I'll tell Sehun and Baekhyun and we'll see if we can get something done. Alright?'

'Cool.'

…………………...

The ice rink was simply amazing, both the rink itself and everything else around it. The indoor setup was built inside the new building that aimed to become the favorite hangout of the season, with gaming arcade, multiple cinema lounges and even decently priced restaurants for the customers. Each of the three floors was dedicated to something and the rink was in the basement, along with a huge swimming pool which was currently closed off, to open in summers.

They wandered around, a huge group with the eight boys – Luhan was running a bit late due to his practice – and the five girls. The guys were behaving more like little kids than grownups, all but running about excitedly and Mei, Tiffany and Raina weren’t any better. Angel stuck close to Suho, obviously intimidated by the rink and not at all confident she could do it while Lily brought up the rear with Xiumin, sedately following the rest.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol were chasing each other around at dangerously high speeds, racing across the rink without any regards to safety. More often than not, they fell down at turns but got back up immediately.

Tao, much to Raina's displeasure, had latched onto Lay who was patiently teaching him how to skate. They held hands, gently rolling across the rink, and making her feel more jealous than ever before. She wanted to hold hands with him – she was even willing to pretend she didn't know how to skate if that's what got his attention but he had eyes for no one else.

After glaring at the couple from the distance for a while, she sighed, feeling like a . Tao was a nice guy after all and she wasn’t generally a mean person. So to make up for her mean thoughts, she went over and offered to help him as well. Lay thanked her politely and instead of just Lay holding his hand, now she was holding Tao's hand as well. She didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad about it.

Meanwhile, another couple was holding hands slowly sliding around the rink. Angel looked cuter than ever in the oversized parka she'd put on and Suho was having a hard time keeping himself in check. She looked so adorable every time she slipped, her cheeks flushed pink with exertion and her hair all over the place despite the valiant attempt at pigtails, glasses slipping dangerously down her nose as she struggled to keep straight.

He was so focused on her sheer cuteness, he forgot to see where he was going and slipped, falling on his . That was alright, though, because Angel had landed on top of him and he gave into the urge to hug her, crushing her against himself. She let out an embarrassed squeak and he let go with a laugh, sitting up.

'Let's start again.' He told her, standing up and pulling her up again. He placed her hands on his shoulders. 'Look at me, okay?'

She nodded, eyes fixed on his face. He laughed. 'Look at my feet, I mean.'

Flushing, she bent her head and focused on his feet instead, trying to copy as he moved and he put his hands on her waist to keep her stable. Before long, they were skating smoothly. He let go of her waist, and grabbed her hands, entwining their fingers as they glided along, her lips breaking out into wide, happy smile.

Lily watched their interaction critically. She and Xiumin had decided they needed more information about how to act like a couple because they were one. They'd realized, after Mei's invitation that they'd never gone out on a date. And other than the occasional kiss, mostly done for fan-service, they weren't like a couple at all. So after discussing it, they'd decided they would observe the couples around them and perhaps get some tips about how to be like a proper couple.

Lily watched how they were holding hands, then glanced down at her own hands. Angel needed to be led around, that's why they were doing it. Should they do it when they could both skate competently? Xiumin slid beside her. 'What are you thinking about?'

'Should we hold hands?' She asked. He blinked, then glanced around. Almost all couples were holding hands. 'I guess.' He nodded. 'Okay.'

'Okay.'

She offered him her hand, palms up. He laughed at that. 'I'll hold your hand.'

She frowned, then glanced down at her palm. Understanding dawned on her face. 'Oh. My bad.' She placed her hand in his palm with a sheepish grin. 'Sorry.'

''S okay.' He told her, sliding backwards and pulling her with him. She let him guide for a while even though she could skate perfectly fine without his help. But it felt nice. She said as much.

'Really?' he arched a brow. 'I get the feeling you're getting annoyed by it.'

'Not annoyed.' Lily shook her head. 'It's just… I can skate better on my own.' He laughed at that. 'I know.'

'I guess this isn’t about skating…' she speculated, 'more about enjoying each other's company.'

He nodded at that, 'But we don't have to do everything like that if you're not comfortable with it.' She negated him with a smile. 'I like it.'

He glanced at her and smiled. 'Okay. I like it too.' She cleared and looked away, a soft smile forming on her lips.

……………………

Tao was finally getting the hang of it – pretty quickly, if he did say so himself but then again, he was pretty good with athletics and stuff. But that did not make him immune to random pushes by his foolish elders or even more random crashing-into-his-arms-for-support hugs by his Shadow.

Who'd just decided to throw himself at Tao. Again.

Tao yelped as Sehun bumped into him, falling down on his . 'What the hell?' he snarled, annoyed that his perfect slide was interrupted yet again.

'Why is she smelling like that?' Sehun whined, burying his head in Tao's neck.

Tao tried not get annoyed – his Shadow was going through a tough time, his mate mere feet away with another man – and he would've been understanding if his idiot of a brother had been whining about not being able to get close to her instead of whining about her scent.

Which, Tao had to admit, was actually pretty good and Sehun was an idiot for trying to deny it. What the hell was wrong with him?

'Tao…' Sehun whined again as Tao pushed him away. 'What should I do?'

'Stop trying to avoid her. You can't ignore it, you know.'

Sehun pouted. 'Why is she my mate?'

'Ugh, how the hell would I know? I'm not the one who chose her!'

'I didn't choose her either.'

'Let's not start with that again. I'm still having trouble, you know.' And that was true – Sehun's efforts at escapism had only made things worse for Tao and he was still stuck with his Shadow's powers. 'Go get her.'

'What about Kai?' Sehun whined again. Tao wondered if he sounded this annoying when he was whining to his elders, then shook his head. He was sure he sounded cuter. 'Kai'll figure it out sooner or later. And Suho already talked to him, so I'm sure he'll understand.'

'I don’t want to.'

'Geez, stop being a brat!' Tao snapped at him, yanking him up and pushing him towards Tiffany. 'Go away.'

Sehun stuck his tongue out at Tao and started walking towards the edge of the rink, intent on getting away from Tiffany altogether. Tao shook his head – why was he being so damn stubborn?

'Look out!!!!' Mei yelled from behind him and Tao turned, just in time to see her coming straight towards him.

'Wheee!!!' she squealed happily, bumping into him and landing him back on his . 'Ugh, why is everyone so mean to me?' Tao asked dramatically.

'Stop being a drama queen.' Mei told him, then proffered a hand. He took it gratefully and stood up.

………………………….

Kai was having fun, teaching Tiffany how to skate and he wondered, again, why he was even considering anything about breaking up.  He'd been analyzing his own feelings for her over the past few days and he'd come to the conclusion that he genuinely liked her.

Sure his feelings weren't as strong as they'd been for Mei but then again, Mei had been his mate – but Tiffany wasn’t just any rebound either. He wanted to be with her, he liked being with her and Suho and Mei and the rest could chew on that.

'I'll let go now.' He warned her, then let go of her hands. She wind milled for a second before stabilizing, looking proud. He gave her a thumbs up. 'Come towards me.'

Nodding, she stepped forward and immediately slipped. He grabbed her before she fell, laughing. For someone who rocked stilettos like she did, she sure had problems with balance.

'Heels are different.' She pouted cutely.

'I think they're pretty much the same.' Kai countered, sliding backwards and pulling her along. 'Same basic principles.'

'I at physics, you know.' She informed him snobbishly, 'Art is my thing.'

'Bet you love dancing.' He teased.

'Only dancers.' She corrected him, giving him a coy smile before gliding off, slipping a little but regaining her balance. 

'Ya!'

Glad she wasn't being awkward around him – like she'd been over the past fortnight – he went after her and they played around for a bit, before she got the hang of skating without his help.

'I can fly!!!' She declared dramatically, then waved over his shoulder to someone. 'Mei, Mei, look at me!'

He turned to see Mei gliding towards them, then grinned when Tiffany shot out from beside him, sliding towards her friend. 'I'm the queen of the winds.' She declared, crossing her arms over her chest. 'Beg for my mercy.'

'Pfft, you're nothing but a lowly slave…' Mei countered with equal drama. They were both crazy, that Kai already knew, but it was still fun seeing them going crazy together. His favorite girls…

He sighed, feeling a little strange but was distracted from his thoughts by Baekhyun and Chanyeol who surrounded him. 'Let's get some ice cream!' Baekhyun insisted, grabbing his arm.

'I don't…' he began but of course they weren't listening to him, dragging him away instead and before he knew it, they were in line for ice-cream. The person right in front of him was none other than Sehun and the cub jumped when he touched his shoulder. 'You scared me!'

'Seems like I do that a lot.' Kai joked, but that was true. Sehun had been acting worse than Tao after a horror movie. He gave him a strained smile. 'Yeah.'

'Why?' Kai wondered aloud. He'd been thinking about confronting the cub alone but this was good too.

'Nothing, just… hormones.' Sehun's vague answer didn't satisfy him at all. But maybe in the cub's case, it was literal. With maturation, his hormones were bound to be all over the place.

'Well, it's tough. I know that, so don't try to keep everything to yourself. You need all the help you can get.' Sehun nodded in agreement. 'I know… it's just a bit overwhelming sometimes.'

'Hmm…' Kai nodded, glad they were talking at least. He'd been feeling a bit weird because of that. 'Let me know if you need help.'

'Okay.' Sehun nodded. They got to the front and naturally, ice-cream distracted them from all the other issues and they were happily engaged in picking a flavor, despite the fact that Kai didn't even want to have ice-cream in the first place. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were on their other side, bickering as usual, and Kai and Sehun left their elders at the counter, holding their own scoops and happily chattering about mundane, everyday stuff when something made them look up.

Maybe it was their innate connection with their mates, or simply a sixth sense but they both glanced up simultaneously, eyes zeroing in on the girls and they reacted simultaneously as well, their powers acting almost of their own accord.

There was a zipping sound accompanied by a hefty gust of wind and both Legends vanished from sight.

…………………………

A/N

And now, w'e're at a crucial stage in the story... the next couple of chapters are gonna be high on angst and ... and I'd really like to hear how you guys take it :) I admit I might've teared up at a few parts but then again, I'm pretty attached to Kai and I often tear up when I'm writing emotional scenes :/ I figure if I can't feel it enough to make myself cry, its probably not good enough :D anyway, just a heads up. Do comment and let me know what you guys think :)