You're the One

-53-

Following his usual habit, Chan took the stairs after leaving Mr. Parks office. He hated to stand still trapped inside the elevator after those meetings, something Changbin knew very well. The dark rapper had positioned himself in the stairwell so he could intercept his leader on his way to the practice room. Changbin got to his feet in a hurry and took off his headphones, as soon as he saw the blue haired approaching him. "How did it go?" He was trying to read Chan's expression, but all he could see was his friend trying to repress his emotions the best he could. He put his hands on both of Chan's shoulders and the elder dove in to hug him. "I did it, Binnie. He's safe now. They're both safe." The leaders broad shoulders started shaking, and he held on to the shorter even harder than before. "You did good, Channie. You did really good." Changbin suppressed his urge to yell out a big "fuck you" to Mr. Park and focused on his hyung, giving him comfort by simply holding him.

It was over after a minute or two. Chan straightened up and turned away from Changbin to wipe away the annoying tears that had betrayed him. Binni didn't make a fuss about it and it made Chan appreciate the dark rapper even more. "OK, Channie. I'll go down to the practice room now. Join us whenever you're ready. They're all waiting there, so if you need another minute in our studio, just do it." "Than you, Binnie. You're a really good friend." They gave each other a short hug and then Changbin left.

Everyone turned when the rapper entered the practice room and then relaxed again when they saw that it wasn't their leader. "He's not here yet?" he asked knowing very well that Chan had yet to make his appearance. They all protected each other, and he knew that no one would resent him for this small deceit if they ever found out that he had comforted Chan.

After another five minutes, Chan came in looking all cool and collected, like if there had never been any doubt in his mind whatsoever about the outcome of the meeting. He didn't bother with trying to be cute or funny. The matter was way too serious and he wanted Felix in his arms as soon as possible. Thus he simply stated that the meeting had been a success - they now had full creative freedom and they would stay together.

The screams were heard on the floor above them and below them, as the tension in the room erupted in glorious mayhem. They all acted like crack heads, but three people stood out. Changbin was insulting Mr. Park in a very loud voice, seemingly having a lot to get off his chest. Jisung was running around in circles while laughing like crazy, with his arms outstretched as if he was trying to fly. And Felix cried his heart out, sitting in Channie's lap on the floor.

Eventually they calmed down enough for them to have an actual conversation. "Does this mean we can do whatever we want now," Innie asked incredulous. "No, you still have to listen to your older brothers, especially Chan." Seungmin explained. "That's right. You will respect my authority." Chan looked pleased with himself, until everyone started to laugh including his boyfriend, but it was just for show. He never intended for Stray Kids to be a dictatorship. That was why he wanted the group to decide how they would celebrate this win.

"Earlier I promised Sungie, Minmin and Binnie that we would go out to eat somewhere expensive once this was settled, as a celebration. My treat, of course. But I have given it some thought and we have always been able to do something like that..." He was interrupted by Minho who was coughing while muttering "stingy much" under his breath. Chan rolled his eyes – he knew the snub was payback for just calling him Minmin in front of everybody. "However... now that the cat and the cat lover is out of the bag, maybe you guys would like to host a party at our place for a change? We could do it tonight, or something else - I'm open for suggestions."

Everyone looked excited at the idea, except Jisung who turned to Felix with his eyes wide open and a bitch what the fuck did you tell him look on his face. The young Aussie just shook his head and held up his hands to signal back that he had not breathed a single word about Jisung's secret life as a cat.

Collectively they decided to invite Ateez, but no trainees for obvious reasons. Chan had agreed to sponsor all the alcohol. It was going to be a wet event indeed. Stray Kids wanted to feed their colleagues and someone suggested that Minho could be in charge of the cooking as usual. When the purple haired dryly noted that cooking for 16 people wouldn't be a problem, but that he wasn't likely to have much energy left by the end of the evening for any extended celebration , Jisung started chanting "take out" and settled the matter while the rest of the members snickered.

Author's Note: Just a party and an epilogue left now...