Tao's sure he's dead.   Any form of reality has slid away and he doesn't even feel cold anymore. He doesn't feel anything. It's so dark. The kind of darkness that is thick and impenetrable. Tao doesn't feel separate from the darkness either, it seems to be inside him as well as all around him. He can't see his hands, isn't even sure if he has hands. He wants to move, to go somewhere, but he's not even sure where to start. The only doubt he has is that he can still feel pain, the deep-seated pain in his back and chest is still there. But maybe he'd still feel like this whether he was dead or not.   He's not sure how much time passes or if time passes at all. At some point, he's aware of a slight change in the darkness, not light exactly, but a lighter shade of grey. Tao turns towards it, remaining where he is as the darkness seems to tear like fabric, ripping down the middle as if there was a seam there. Suddenly light explodes through the gap, the darkness shying away. Tao's mind fills with images of Baekhyun and Xiumin and the other boys and soon of Kris. And it's as if he's watching his memories; he can see the look on his face when Kris kisses him, he sees them on the beach, sees himself laying in Kris's arms.   But all he can think of is Kris. His smile. His laugh. His beauty. His kisses. His touch. The light seems to intensify and pain spikes through Tao's head, bright and hot. He takes a gasping breath and blinks a few times before opening his eyes. The bright white-golden light has shifted to a pale blue. The sky. Everything comes rushing back and Tao feels the ache of his muscles, the cold roughness of rock under his back. He lays there for a few minutes, his throat is burning from lack of water, a hollow feeling in his stomach.   He tastes blood in his mouth as he sits up slowly. Everything seems to tilt, his vision swimming as he braces a hand on the cliff face, his breath uneven. He tries to get to his feet and feels a sharp jolt of pain in his side, wincing as he lifts the edge of his sweater. There's long dark bruises running along his ribs, his skin pulled tight where he can see the fragile bones bent together. Broken. He takes a shuddering breath, the pain making him want to sit back down. But he can't.   He tilts his head back, ignoring the dull throb of pain in his neck. He can see Baekhyun's arm hanging over the edge of the rock where he was, his sandy blonde hair pink with blood. Tao clears his throat, raising his voice as much as he can,   "Baekhyun?"   There's no reply and Tao feels a familiar twist of worry and guilt in his stomach. If Baekhyun was dead-   'Tao?!'   The voice pulls Tao out of his thoughts as he tilts his head back even farther. The sun is so bright, illuminating whoever was standing at the top of the cliff so that they Tao couldn't tell who it was. The person knelt down out of the sun and Tao felt his eyes burn, near to crying. Kris. Kris was looking down at him, his golden eyes wide but relieved,   'Tao!! Are you okay?! We've been looking for you two all night! I thought we were never going to find you! I, I thought I'd never see you again....'   Tao feels something twist in his chest as he reaches up his hand to Kris as far as it will go, wanting to be as close to him as he can,   "I thought I was going to die. I....I've never been happier to see you....."   Kris smiles and Tao instantly feels warmer inside, his voice more persistent,   "Can you see Baekhyun from there? Is he breathing?"   Tao watches Kris turn his head, his voice even,   'I can't tell. Hold on, okay? Chanyeol has the rope....'   He gets to his feet and runs off and Tao feels a brief flash of panic at not being able to see him. Tao leans against the cliff face, realizing that soon he'd be reunited with Kris. Everything would be okay now. There's a scuffling of feet above him and Tao looks up, catching sight of Chanyeol's silvery hair as he loops the rope around his waist and ties it to a nearby tree, repelling down to where Baekhyun is. He pauses and Tao feels a brief flash of panic as Chanyeol picks Baekhyun up gently, his face sad, his deep voice echoing down to Tao,   'Baekhyun's alive! We need to get them both back soon though! They're dehydrated and injure-'   Baekhyun cuts Chanyeol off, coughing a few times before speaking, his voice barely a whisper,   'Chanyeol.....you came back for me....I knew you would.....I knew I'd see you again....'   Chanyeol laughs softly, smiling sadly at the sandy haired boy curled up in his arms,   'Of course I came back for you. I'll always come back for you Baekhyunnie...'   Chanyeol turns his gaze skyward and pulls on the rope as him and Baekhyun start to rise slowly, Tao catching sight of Kris and a few of the others pulling them up. Chen's curly hair and Suho's pale blonde just visible from where Tao is. Once they reach the top, Chanyeol unties the rope and pulls Baekhyun tighter against his chest, kissing his forehead and whispering something to him.   Tao glances up as someone throws the rope down to him. He ties it around his waist as best he can, one of his hands still numb, his fingers bent towards his palm at an odd angle. Broken probably. He tugs on the rope and feels the rope tighten as the boys start to pull him up. The ascent seems to last ages even though Tao knows it only takes less than two minutes. He sees the edge of the cliff rise up in front of him and curls his hand around it, pulling himself the rest of the way up and getting to his feet.   Kris is on him in a second, his arms wrapped around Tao so tightly that the younger whimpers in pain, his voice soft,   "Kris....broken ribs....you're hurting me..."   Kris relaxes his grip slightly but doesn't let go, curling a hand into Tao's hair, his voice rough and soft,   'Tao....Tao....Tao....Tao....'   Tao feels tears burn his eyes and hugs Kris back, resting his head against Kris's chest,   "I'm so sorry......we got lost and-"   Kris cuts him off, his lips on Tao's. His kisses are gentle and slow as he tilts his head, deepening the kiss. Kris's touch fills Tao with warmth and he relaxes against him, shaking slightly from the shock of the whole situation. Kris breaks the kiss slowly, his voice soft,   'What would I be without you, Tao? Please just....just don't ever leave me again. If you have to get stranded on a cliff, let me be there with you....'   Tao laughs softly even through it hurts,    "I don't ever want to be away from you agai-"   'Tao...? Chanyeol, is Tao okay..?'   Tao looks up as Baekhyun's soft voice reaches his ears. He's curled up in Chanyeol's arms, pain written on his face, his eyes dark. Chanyeol walks over to Tao and the dark haired boy smiles, reaching over a hand and brushing Baekhyun's hair off his forehead gently,   "It's okay, Baekhyun...."   Baekhyun looks up at him, his voice soft and uneven,   'I'm sorry about this whole thing, Tao.....'   A smile curves his split lips,    'I would have bled out if it hadn't been for you....'   Tao swallows slowly, his lips curved in a half-smile,   "Well you got what you wanted, you're with Chanyeol now..."   Tao sees Chanyeol smile as tightens his grip on the smaller boy, a small smile curving Baekhyun's lips. Tao turns around and barely contains a whimper of pain as Suho pulls him into a tight hug, tears in his voice,   'I'm so glad you're okay, Tao! I was so worried about you!'   Tao smiles, patting Suho on the back as the blonde boy lets go of him, Chen throwing an arm around Tao's shoulders with a grin,   'You look awful...'   Tao laughs, punching him in the shoulder,   "Shut up, Jongdae."   Kris offers to give Tao a piggy-back ride back to their camp and Tao lets him, resting his cheek on the flat plane of Kris's shoulder, his arms looped loosely around his neck. In reality, it only takes them about an hour and a half to get back. Baekhyun and Tao had just been going in circles the whole time. If they'd gone the right way, they would have been back in less than an hour. Tao flashes back to last night on the cliff and shivers involuntarily. He'd been sure he was going to die, that they were both going to die.   Maybe fate was giving him a second chance. Or maybe he'd just gotten lucky that Kris had found him when he did. If he hadn't, both of them would have died. Tao pulls himself closer to Kris, his voice soft,   "Kris......I want you to stay with me....."   He can't see his face but he's sure Kris is smiling,   'Always, Tao.....I'll never let you go.....'   By the time they get back to camp, it's nearly one o'clock. The other boys crowd around them, asking if they're okay and wanting to hear the story as Suho shoos all of them away and takes Baekhyun from Chanyeol, carrying him over to his tent and ducking inside. Kris slides Tao off his back, taking him gently in his arms and laying him carefully on his sleeping bag in the tent he shared with Chen, Lay, and Kai. Tao feels pain run through his chest, his breath wavering slightly. He hears Kris sit next to him, lacing their fingers,   'It's okay, Tao....I'm here....'   Tao swallows painfully, turning his head to look at Kris, his deep golden eyes making Tao feel slightly faint,   "Kris.....promise me that no matter what happens, you'll never leave me.....that even if I go crazy and don't want you anymore, that you'll stay because I'm always going to love you, no matter what I say....."   Kris arches an eyebrow at him, his voice amused,   'What did you just say?'   Tao blushes lightly, his voice soft,   "You know what I said...."   Kris laughs, his eyes crinkling,   'I know, but I want to make you say it again...'   Tao sighs, meeting Kris's eyes and reaching up his other hand, resting it against his cheek,   "Wu Yi Fan, I love you..."   He sees Kris's eyes widen slightly and he puts a finger to his lips, cutting him off before he can say anything,   "And don't say it's too soon or I'm just in shock because I'm not, I know how I feel about you and Kris, there's no one else I care about like I care about you...."   Kris smiles softly, his voice low,   'Huang Zitao.....Tao....when I met you I was sure that we'd be best friends, but I never imagined that I'd get to fall in love with you....that I'd be this lucky....'   Tao feels tears in his eyes as he pulls Kris closer so that their foreheads are touching, his voice soft,   "Last night, I thought I was going to die and all I wanted was to see you again....more than anything I wanted to be able to tell you how I felt, to be with you one more time....."   Kris twists his head so that their lips are almost touching, his voice low and Tao can hear the affection in it,   'I love you, Tao....I love you so much.....I love you more than I knew I could love someone....Tao.....my Tao.....'   Tao grins, leaning closer, his lips gentle against Kris's. He feels the older boy relax against him, curving a hand into Tao's hair. Tao runs a hand under the hem of his sweater, his skin warm and soft under Tao's touch. Tao hears Kris gasp softly and smiles as he breaks the kiss, his eyes amused,   "Kris, are we always going to be together?"   Kris smiles softly, curling a lock of Tao's dark hair around his finger,   'I promise, I'll always love you....'     Somehow Lay ends up treating Tao's injuries, reassuring the dark haired boy at least three times that he's more than qualified. It turns out that none of Tao's fingers are broken, just cold. Lay supplies him with a few layers of gloves and wraps bandages around his middle to keep his ribs together, three of which actually are broken. He also gives Tao a hat, brings him water and generally makes sure he's warm enough until Tao can feel his fingers again and some of the pain in his chest subsides due to the painkillers Lay had given him.   The blonde haired boy tells him that Baekhyun is asleep, his exhausted body full of benadryl and ibuprofen. Suho had deemed that they'd stay here for the night since it was already almost mid afternoon and the roads were dangerous when it was dark. Lay assures Tao that Baekhyun's arm was fine and that he'd be okay to wait until tomorrow to go to the doctor and that Chanyeol was hovering around, keeping watch on him.   Lay checks once more to make sure Tao is feeling okay before ducking out of the tent and leaving Tao and Kris alone. Tao can hear voices raised in conversation, Luhan's giggling laugh making Tao want to smile. He closes his eyes, sighing contentedly; everything was fine now. He was warm and