Here we are again! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I certainly did! I promise, Christmas Day will come in the next chapter. Don't worry, we'll get there!

Enjoy!


Chapter Six

The Star

When Nat woke the next morning, it was to find herself in a nest of arms and legs. She was lying half on Yifan, his arm around her shoulders. She could feel someone lying on her, and could see Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Luhan from where her head was trapped against Yifan's chest. She heard sound from the kitchen and shifted carefully when she smelled bacon and toast.

Zitao's head appeared over her shoulder and she grinned at his sleep-rumpled hair. "Good morning. I hope I made a good pillow."

He laughed and smacked sleepily at her shoulder, jolting Yifan awake as well. Kyungsoo came in from the kitchen holding a tray full of plates of food. He set it down on the coffee table and kicked the others on the floor awake. The room was soon filled with voices chattering away, mixed with the clinking of dishes and silverware as they devoured Kyungsoo's cooking.

"Where's Minsoek?" Nat asked once she was awake enough to notice there were only twelve people in the room.

"He left last night," Jongdae spoke up from his spot on the floor next to Suho. "I tried to get him to stay, but apparently, the Managers wanted him back as soon as possible."

Nat nodded with a sigh. "I hope he'll be okay for the tests today. Maybe I should ask Phil to wait a couple days."

"No," Yixing replied, shaking his head. "Better to get it over with. Delaying it will only compound the problem."

Nat sighed again, and Yifan patted her hair. "It's alright. We'll be fine. We should probably get moving though."

Nat stood and nodded firmly. "Right. You guys get this mess cleaned up while I go change. And someone'd better call Minsoek. Make sure he'll be alright for today."

By the time Nat finished getting dressed, the boys had cleaned up the breakfast dishes, straightened all the couch cushions and folded up the blankets that had gotten scattered around during the night.

"Minsoek will meet us there," Jongdae said as she entered the room. "He's being transported over now."

Nat nodded, "Good." She turned to the Exo-K members. "I'm going to be spending the day at SHIELD, so you guys will get transported to Camp once we've been transferred off the ship."

Baekhyun looked like he was about to protest, but a nudge from Suho kept him from voicing his objections. "We look forward to seeing you this evening, then," Suho replied, smiling.

Nat smiled back, then gestured for the Exo-M members to gather around her. She tapped her watch and called for transport.

Part of the reason Nat was spending the day at SHIELD, was because Phil refused to let her go anywhere without an escort for the time being. So, she settled down in one of the conference rooms and finished her Christmas shopping online.

The other reason was that Simmons had texted her that morning saying that she was close to having the results from some of the tests she'd run to learn how the Exo members had gotten their powers. After lunch, which Nat spent with the Exo-M members, she wandered down to the lab, looking for her friend.

Simmons was working on her computer when Nat entered, and had to be tapped on the shoulder for her attention to be gained. The scientist looked up and smiled when she saw Nat. "Natasha! How wonderful to see you! I am so glad you are alright after being kidnapped."

"Thanks. I was mostly just scared and cold. I didn't get hurt or anything. I was hoping you had some results from the tests you ran?"

"Actually, I do!" Simmons directed Nat's attention to the computer screen and began explaining what she'd learned. Basically, the Exo members gained their powers through genetics, but they had to be activated through an outside source much like the Inhumans. Once the eclipse happened in their original universe, the genetic components that gave them their powers activated. After that, the powers remained.

Nat explained her theory based on the music video they'd released. Years ago, an evil attempted to destroy their world. To protect the source of Life for their Universe, the Exo members' ancestors divided the Source in half, hiding each half and basically creating two sub-universes within the original. Then, they prepared in secret, waiting for the time to come when certain stars would align and bring the two Universes back into sync. Through training, and proximity to the Source, their DNA was changed to allow their descendants to reunite the split Universe and defeat the evil that had prompted the split in the first place.

Simmons conceded that they couldn't know for certain until they'd asked the members, but she also agreed that it might be best for them to wait until a later time to do so. They were tired, and likely wouldn't want to answer more probing questions after everything they'd already been through.

It wasn't long after her chat with Simmons that Nat collected the guys and returned them to Camp. All thirteen of them enjoyed an evening of camp activities and dinner before the boys were transported back to Korea for the rest of the week. They had a lot of work to catch up on, but they'd promised to come back for the Christmas party even if they had to sneak away and call for a quiet transport.

Nat spent the week relaxing in her apartment with her TV almost permanently tuned to the Hallmark Channel. Her two cats, a black female named Arwen and a tortoise-shell male named Daniel, were forced to endure their mistress dancing around their home singing songs and humming happily at the romantic couples in the movies. Both cats were from a planet in a distant galaxy that the Doctor had taken her to once. They had near-human intelligence, and were very strong and fast which made them excellent guards for someone who was almost constantly under threat from various organizations who wanted to see hers fall apart.

It wasn't until she was wrapping the last of her presents on Christmas Eve that she got a visitor. She muted the TV when FRIDAY alerted her to someone at the door. Daniel curled around her ankles as she went to see who it was. The camera view showed Zitao standing there. He looked tired, and she quickly opened the door to let him in.

"Zitao, what are you doing here? I didn't think you guys were coming until tomorrow."

"I called for transport early," he said as he stepped inside. He ran a hand over Arwen's back where she stood on the cat tree by the door. "I needed to talk to you."

"Have a seat," she invited, gesturing for him to sit on the couch. He did so, and absently began stroking Daniel when the cat jumped into his lap.

"Who do you like most?"

The words startled Nat and she didn't know what to say for a moment? "I don't understand. What do you mean by that?"

"Who is your favorite of the members?" His voice was soft and distant. He refused to look at her, instead studying the way Daniel's fur moved beneath his fingers.

"I- I don't think that's a very fair question. You're all my friends now. I know you so much better than when I first created my Bias List."

He nodded slowly and scratched Daniel under the chin causing the cat to purr. Arwen jumped lightly into Nat's lap, demanding some attention. "Do you like Kris?"

"Of course, I do. I like all of you in different ways."

"That's not what I mean," he said, his voice suddenly hard. His fingers clenched and Daniel scampered off his lap in protest. Zitao lifted his head, finally looking Nat directly in the eyes. Nat had always loved his eyes, they were deep and beautiful; wells of emotion that always expressed exactly what he was feeling. Now, they were burning and piercing deep into Nat's soul. Seeking out the deepest depths of her feelings to learn the truth. "Do you like him?"

"I… I don't know. I've tried not to think about it." Nat dropped her eyes from his, her fingers moving over Arwen's fur. Her reprieve didn't last long. She suddenly found her face cradled in Zitao's hands, his long fingers sliding into her hair and tilting her head up, forcing her to look at him again.

Before she could even blink, his lips were suddenly pressed against hers. She froze in shock. She'd been kissed before. It was a hazard of being friends with Jack Harkness. But this was something she'd dreamed of ever since she became a fan of Exo. She hadn't wanted to tell Zitao who her ultimate Bias was because he was it. Now, he was kissing her. She wanted to melt into it; to accept it and twine her fingers in his hair. Instead, she pushed him away, standing quickly and sending Arwen yowling to the floor.

"Sung Ah!" The sound of her Korean name made her stop with her back to him. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She should be dancing with joy. She should be melted in a puddle of fangirl feels on the couch. Instead, she felt angry. Why did it have to be Zitao of all the members to fall for her? Even Yifan would be easier, though just barely. She heard him moving behind her, then felt his warm hands on her shoulders. "Sung Ah. Please, talk to me."

"This can't happen, Zitao," she whispered. "Our lives are far to separate and complicated. We can't do this. And don't call me Sung Ah. It's not fair."

"Very well. Shall I call you Xing instead?"

His voice was low, almost teasing, and she finally turned to look at him, anger blazing behind the tears in her eyes. "That's not fair either! I know what that name means. You know that's one of my favorite songs."

"I look up at the starry sky. Feeling happy when I pick the brightest one," the line from one of her favorites of their Christmas songs took on new meaning as Zitao sang it quietly. "You are my bright Star. And I want everyone else to know it. Will you be my girlfriend?"

The anger faded from Nat's eyes as she looked up at him. His six-foot frame towered over her by more than half a foot, despite his efforts to appear smaller. "Why? Why would you pick me? You could have any woman in the world."

"I don't want any woman. I want you. You're kind and sweet and you care so much. You couldn't care less about my status as an idol. It might be a little hard, but you're worth it. We can text, video chat, call, we can even transport back and forth when my schedule allows."

"I could even move it I wanted," Nat added, allowing herself to hope for a moment. Maybe he was right. Maybe they could make this work. "I can work from anywhere in the world."

A smile spread across his face, hope lighting in his beautiful eyes. "Is that a yes?" he asked, his hand sliding up her shoulder to cup her head again, his long fingers sliding through her hair.

Nat slowly slid her eyes up his face, lingering on his lips briefly before finally gazing up into his eyes. She felt like she was going to drown in the emotion in his deep eyes. "I…"

"Xing," he whispered. "What do you say?"

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