Tao awakes to the distant sounds of the ocean.   It's relaxing at first, the soft crashes and smooth sound of the water being dragged back out to sea. But soon, it grows to be more bothersome and the comfortable sleep Tao had been enjoying is banished to the far corners of his mind.   He sighs softly, glancing over at Kris who is still sound asleep, his head lolling to the side slightly. He has an arm around Tao's shoulders, both of them laying side by side. For the first time in weeks, Tao actually feels as if he's slept.   Kris's chest is rising and falling slowly, his dark hair tousled from sleep, his skin nearly seeming to glow in the sunlight that was falling across their bed. Tao still felt tired from the previous night, nearly smiling at the memories. It was nice, of course, to be intimate with Kris again.   Tao had never really thought about their future past college but suddenly the thought hits him and he realizes that him and Kris could move in together, get their own place. Maybe get married. Somehow, right now, there's nothing Tao wanted more.   Kris stirs slightly, his breathing becoming more frequent as his deep golden eyes open slowly, his pupils shrinking as they adjust to the sunlight. He holds still for a moment, yawning as he looks over at the blonde haired boy next to him, his grip on Tao's upper arm tightening,   'How did you sleep my Panda?'   Tao lets his eyes fall closed, enjoying the warm friction of Kris's skin against his as he rubs Tao's arm gently,   "Better than I have in a long time....how about you?"   Kris smiles softly, the familiar healthy flush seeming to return to his cheeks, a bit of energy about him that he hadn't seemed to posses as of late,   'I actually feel like I've slept for once...'   Tao laughs, his eyes crinkling as he leans his head against Kris's shoulder, his skin soft against Tao's cheek,   "Maybe you'll actually get to sleep all the time now....."   Kris sighs softly, pressing a gentle kiss to Tao's forehead, his voice thick and slow,   'That would be nice....but you know, even if you woke me up every night, even if I barely got more than a few hours of sleep, it would be worth it as long as I have you...'   Tao rolls his eyes, grinning as he elbows Kris in the ribs,   "You know, that's pretty cliche, even for you...."   Kris doesn't seem to care though because he's still smiling, kissing Tao on the cheek and yawning again, sounding a bit more awake now,   'Whatever. It's true and whether you think it's cliche or not, I still love you....'   I love you. Somehow Tao never seemed to tire of hearing Kris say those three words. Whether is was gently affectionate when they were on a date, somewhere between irritated and amused when they were arguing, or breathless in the dark.   No matter what was happening, Kris never failed to let Tao know exactly how precious he was to him and that was something Tao would treasure forever, a small piece of his heart always belonging to the Kris that had loved him. Even if the golden eyed boy with the cupcakes and the tea was long gone, the memories of his love would remain long after.   Tao doesn't reply to Kris, only cuddles closer to him, letting himself enjoy these last few moments they had alone before spending the day with the other boys. Somehow, Tao doesn't get much to enjoy as the quick sounds of footsteps in the hall reaches Tao's ears, the door swinging open as Chen's curly hair appears,   'Do you two even know what time-'   He pauses, catching sight of Tao and Kris for the first time, a look overcoming his face as if he's just seen something awful. When he speaks, his voice is an octave higher than usual,   'Why?'   He gestures between Tao and Kris, shaking his head, his mouth half-open,   'Why??'   Kris looks pointedly at him, not shifting from how he is holding Tao, his gaze somewhere between disbelief and annoyance, his voice flat,   'Chen-'   A deep red blush rises to Chen's cheeks and Tao nearly grins. This must be the first time he's seen Chen blush. The curly haired boy is waving his hands a bit now, looking flustered as he continues,   'Well I know why! But still....why does this always have to happen to me?'   Tao laughs softly sitting up a little straighter and yawning, a blonde hair falling into his field of vision as he turns his eyes on Chen,   "Is there something we can help you with, Chen?"   Chen looks up, blinking a few times as he seems to remember, pulling a hand through his hair,   'Oh, that's right. Breakfast is almost ready and Suho sent me up here to get you two.'   He pauses for a moment, seeming to consider the situation, conveniently keeping his eyes anywhere but on Tao and Kris,   'He must hate me. That's the only explanation-'   Kris cuts him off with a groan, looking exasperated as he puts his face in his hands, his voice muffled slightly,   'Jongdae, stop speculating about your poor misfortune and get out of here before I make you.....'   Chen rolls his eyes, mumbling something about being ungrateful as he shuffles away, closing the door behind him.   As soon as he's gone, Tao starts laughing, leaning over to press a kiss behind Kris's ear,   "Oh come on, Kris. You have to admit, that was pretty funny...."   Kris doesn't reply only drops his hands, still looking annoyed, glaring at the door as if Chen might dare to make a reappearance,   'How is it that he always seems to be able to pick the worst times?'   Tao makes a face, crinkling his nose as he shoves Kris's shoulder playfully,    "You know you love him....."   Kris doesn't reply but doesn't argue either as Tao laughs again, rolling away and getting to his feet. He crosses the carpet, repressing a shiver at the cool air, wishing he was wearing more than just underwear. This was all Kris's fault.   Tao laughs softly to himself as he combs through the hangers in the closet, deciding on his favorite white turtleneck and jeans, figuring he'll just change if they decide to swim again.    Tao glances back over at Kris who is still laying in bed, his eyes closed again. The blonde haired boy makes an annoyed sound, reaching over to hit his leg, the closest part of him as Kris makes a face,    "Kris! If I can't go back to sleep than neither can you so get up...."   Kris nods to him begrudgingly and mumbles something about being down in a few minutes. Tao decides to give him the benefit of the doubt and heads down to the kitchen to eat with the others.   Only a few of them are actually in the kitchen. A very sleepy looking Xiumin, Baekhyun perched on the counter with his nose in a paperback. Kyungsoo and Luhan are there as well, the dark-eyed boy pouring himself some tea.    Luhan looks oddly flushed, a dark pink color dusting his cheekbones, a slightly smug smile twisting his lips. Weirdo. Tao writes him off and pours himself a cup of tea as well, saying good morning as he walks over to Baekhyun and twists his head to see what the title of the book is.   Wuthering Heights.   Tao nearly grins as he remembers suggesting it to Baekhyun ages ago. Perhaps he was finally reading it now. Not wanting to disturb the petite dark haired boy, he turns his attention to Xiumin, his voice amused,   "Where did Chen run off to?"   Xiumin raises his eyes, a sad smile curving his lips,   'He wasn't feeling well again, probably throwing up....'   Tao considers for a moment, wondering just how seriously ill Chen was. He knew that Chen had always had a weak immune system as a child and it was easy for him to get sick but not easy to get well.   He'd probably just picked up a stomach flu of some sort and it was taking twice as long for him to get rid of it as it should have. Unpleasant, yes. Life threatening, no.   Kai overhears Tao and Xiumin's conversation, walking over to rinse out his cup in the sink, sounding almost amused,   'He's not pregnant is he?'   Xiumin rolls his eyes, his voice flat, dripping with sarcasm,   'Oh yes, Chen is pregnant. Because that's definitely the most logical conclusion...'   Baekhyun glances up, hitting the back of Kai's head with his book as the younger boy makes a face, glaring at Baekhyun as he rubs his head.    It's quiet for a moment, no one electing to start a conversation and Tao is beginning to  wonder if maybe he should go check on Chen when Luhan's voice breaks the thick silence, sounding somewhere between proud and embarrassed,   'I slept with Chanyeol....'   Tao chokes on his tea, struggling to swallow as he coughs, Kai hitting his back good-naturedly, a stunned look on his usually smug face. Baekhyun looks like he's been hit by a brick wall, his book falling to his lap in a flutter of pages, his mouth fallen open.   Kyungsoo seems to take a moment to register what Luhan's saying, hurrying to hide the hurt and anger that was written on his face. Xiumin's dark eyes are almost twice as large as normal as he turns them on Luhan, disbelief in his voice,   'What did you just say?'   Luhan blushes a deeper shade of pink, scratching the back of his head as he glances down, the same mixed excitement and embarrassment in his voice,   'Chanyeol and I.....we sort of hooked up....'   Xiumin looks like he's about to explode, the sheer shock and severity of the gossip causing his mouth to have perpetually fallen open as he tries to form a coherent sentence,   'Wait.....when? When did this happen?'   Luhan looks up at him, his honey blonde hair seeming a bit more out of place than usual, a bit less perfect. Not entirely unlike its owner.   'We're sharing a room and last night after we went to bed, I came back from the bathroom and Chanyeol was still awake so I went to say goodnight to him and I'm not sure if I kissed him or he kissed me but one thing led to another and.....'   He trails off, the run-on sentence explanation leaving him slightly winded. Xiumin looks like he's trying to contain a grin as he scoots his chair closer to Luhan's end of the counter,   'Wait.....so Chanyeol was your first?'   Luhan nods a few more times than necessary and Xiumin is grinning for real now, his voice oddly high pitched,   'Oh. My. God.'   Luhan is grinning now too, still nodding as he leans against the counter, putting his face in his hands,   'I know.....'   Xiumin sits up straighter, curling a lock of Luhan's hair around his finger and tugging on it with near impatience,   'So are you two a thing now?'   Luhan looks up, shaking his head, looking perhaps a bit less excited than before,   'Oh no. He said he's not looking for anything serious and neither am I...I'm not sure if it was just a one time thing or not, but if anything, we're both just looking to have a little fun....'   Neither Kyungsoo nor Baekhyun has said anything, Kai standing beside Tao in stunned silence as there's a shuffle of feet from the hallway and Chanyeol appears.   He's dressed in grey sweatpants and a black tee shirt, his thick silver hair messy. He seems to be stifling a yawn as he catches sight of Luhan, a small smile curving his lips as he walks up behind the smaller boy, pressing a kiss to his cheek,   ''Morning beautiful......'   Luhan blushes and Tao glances over at Baekhyun. The small dark haired boy looks on the verge of tears, his eyes shining as he tightens his grip on the book in his lap and jumps off the counter, walking away without a second glance.    Tao follows after him without hesitation, hearing the soft click of the front door as he pulls it open again, catching sight of Baekhyun's dark hair bobbing away across the ocean of sand towards the water.    Tao jogs to catch up with him, closing his fingers around Baekhyun's upper arm and pulling him to a halt, his voice soft,   "Baekhyun, wait-"   Baekhyun turns around to face him and before Tao can react, Baekhyun jerks his fist back and cracks it across Tao's cheek.   Tao reels back slightly, blinking repeatedly as he brings up a hand to his face, sharp flashes of pain running down his jaw.   Well, whatever he'd been expecting, it hadn't been for Baekhyun to punch him.    Tao stands there for a moment, looking up at Baekhyun in confusion as he opens his mouth, nearly wincing at the pain,   "Baekhyun-"   There are tears on Baekhyun's cheeks and he's shaking slightly. Tao's unsure if he's ever seen the dark haired boy this angry. He seems to be fighting back tears as he speaks, his voice uneven, choked with sadness and hurt,   'You lied to me.....'   Tao arches an eyebrow at him, straightening as he runs through his memories, wondering what Baekhyun could be referring to,   "Baekhyun, I-"   The dark haired boy cuts him off again, his expression more anger than hurt now, his eyes flashing bright and he brings them level with Tao's,   'You told me Chanyeol still loved me....you.....you made me think.....'   He trails off, his breathing sharp as he tries not to cry in front of Tao. Tao wants to reach for him or tell him he's wrong or something, anything. But somehow the words aren't coming out and before he has time to reply, Kris's voice reaches Tao's ears,   'Tao? Baekhyun? What are you two-'   He draws closer to them and catches sight of the bruise that must be forming on Tao's cheek, his eyes widening as he glances between them,   'What happened?'   Tao glances up at his boyfriend and nearly smiles at the protectiveness in his voice. But smiling is painful and so is talking so Tao tries to cut straight to the chase,   "Baekhyun hit me-"   The change in Kris's face in nearly instantaneous, his eyes darkening, his lips set into a straight line as he takes a step towards Baekhyun. Tao shakes his head, grabbing Kris by the wrist, wincing as he speaks,   "No, Kris don't. I deserved it....I think.....but don't hurt him, please....."   Kris looks for a moment as if he might just tear his arm out of Tao's grip and hit Baekhyun twice as hard as he hit Tao. But he seems to think better of it, deflating slightly as he nods and laces his fingers with Tao's, walking back to the house and dragging the younger blonde haired boy behind him.    Kris doesn't stop when they reach the house, pulling Tao upstairs into the bathroom and closing the door behind them. He pauses for a fraction of a second before placing his hands gently on Tao's waist and setting him on the counter.    Kris looks up at his blonde haired boyfriend for a moment, not speaking as he runs his fingertips gently across Tao's swollen cheek, anger and sadness flickering across his golden eyes,   'Tao....why did you let him do this to you?'   Tao shakes his head, his eyes blurring with tears as he avoids Kris's gaze, the pain in his face seeming obsolete compared to the fact that him and Baekhyun were back to not being friends anymore,   "I'm sorry-"   Kris cuts him off, pressing a finger gently to Tao's lips so as not to hurt him,   'Hey, don't be sorry.....this isn't your fault....'   He smiles softly, leaning closer to Tao, his voice low,   'Mianhae if this hurts....'   Kris presses a gentle kiss to the bridge of Tao's nose, a small smile curving the blonde boy's lips, his eyes falling closed as Kris's voice fills his ears,   'I just don't like seeing you in pain, Tao.'   Tao murmurs in agreement, leaning into Kris slightly, his voice strained,   "I just can't seem to do anything right when it comes to him.....just when we're friends again, something happens and we have to start all over....."   Kris nods, pressing a kiss to Tao's cheekbone, curling a hand into his soft blonde hair,