The first thing Kris realizes when he wakes up is that Tao is gone.   He rolls over, his hands running across the blankets, searching out Tao's soft sweater only to find empty space. He groans softly, curling his hand into the sheets and sitting up, his eyes blurry as he searches the room for the younger dark haired boy. Tao is sitting perched on the windowsill, his thick gray too-long sweater hanging past the tips of his fingers, his arms crossed over his stomach, his eyes closed as he leans his forehead against the window.   Kris gets to his feet, nearly shivering as the cold wood touches his skin. It never felt like Christmas unless it was cold. He lets an easy smile rise to his face as he leans against the window next to Tao, watching him,   'Good morning.'   Tao smiles, his eyes still closed,   "Good morning to you too."   He falls silent and Kris swallows slowly, tilting his head,   'Is something wrong, Tao?'   Tao makes a face that's half pained and Kris feels something tighten in his stomach. This couldn't be good.   "I like you, Kris, really I do. But this is my first relationship in a long time, my first relationship with-"   He gestures to Kris, a slight flush creeping along his cheeks,   "My first relationship with a guy, and I just want to take it slower. I don't want you to think that I don't care or that-"   Kris holds up a hand, pausing Tao's explanation,   'Tao. It's okay, I understand. I'll back off a little bit, give you some space to get used to the idea of us being a couple.'   Tao smiles, his dark hair still messy from sleep as he slips off the windowsill, lacing his fingers with Kris's,   "Thank you for understanding. Now, I have to go take a shower before the whole day of Christmas fun Suho has planned begins. I'll see you at breakfast, hm?"   Kris smiles, and this time it feels genuine,   'Of course. Wouldn't want to miss a day of 'Christmas fun' with Baekhyun and Luhan.'   Tao laughs softly, releasing Kris's hand and walking out of their room and down the hall. Kris stands there for a moment, hoping he hadn't scared Tao off. Perhaps he'd been crushing longer than he'd thought. He sighs, shaking his head to clear his thoughts as he grabs his favorite jacket from the closet, laughing to himself as he finds Tao's gloves in the pocket, his favorite pencil in the other.   Perhaps not rushing their relationship didn't apply to Tao always stealing Kris's clothes. Kris rolls his eyes, an amused smile on his face as he takes the jacket off, hanging it back up and putting it on Tao's side of the closet. It would happen at some point anyway, better if Kris just gave it to him. He yawns, realizing briefly that if Tao's absence hadn't been noticed, he probably would have slept a lot later.   He smiles, pulling a black sweater over his head, he'd have to get Tao back later for making him wake up early. Most of the others are already awake once Kris makes his way downstairs, spotting Suho first as he carries a plate of pancakes from the kitchen, depositing them in the center of the table and glancing up as he hears Kris, a smile on his face,   'You're up early. I take I things went well with you and Tao last night-'   Kris blushes and punches Suho lightly on the arm,    'It's not like that. I just woke up early, that's all. Tao's in the shower but he should be down soon.'   Kris yawns again and takes a seat on the bench next to Lay, serving himself a plate of breakfast as Chen clears his throat from across the table. He has one arm thrown around Xiumin's shoulders and is playing with the ends of his hair casually, a smile on his face,   'So, how are things with you and Tao?'   Baekhyun sits up straighter, his eyes gleaming from the end of the table,   'Yes, hyung! Tell us everything!'   Kris laughs softly, bringing his tea cup to his lips and taking a sip, clearing his throat before speaking,   'It's not like there's anything to tell and even if there was, it wouldn't be your business anyway.'   Both Chen and Baekhyun look disappointed, so Kris continues,   'But things are good. We've decided to take things slow so don't expect us to be like that anytime soon.'   He gestures to Chanyeol and Bakehyun, Baekhyun who is currently sitting in Chanyeol's lap, his head tilted back slightly as Chanyeol presses a kiss to the side of his neck. Baekhyun makes a face at Kris, somewhere between annoyed and embarrassed, causing the older to laugh, his eyes crinkling as he glances down at his food.   After a few minutes, Lay suddenly remembers he has an errand to run and says quick goodbyes as he grabs his coat and boots and heads out the door. Suho watches him go with a worried look and Kris smirks into his tea,   'Suho-eomma, when are you going to tell him?'   Suho looks up, feigning innocence though his voice sounds nervous,   'What are you talking about?'   Kris sighs, looking up, a sad smile on his face,   'You've been moping around wasting after him for over a month now! Why don't you just come out with it already?'   Suho rolls his eyes, his voice slightly annoyed,   'Oh yes, because I should definitely he taking advice from you-'   Chen chokes on his cereal, his husky laughter filling the kitchen as Kris glares at him, more amusement in his eyes than real anger. Suho falls silent for a moment before continuing,   'Besides, Lay is so sweet and innocent, I can't risk ever breaking his heart. I'd rather have us just be friends then have me ever be the reason why he's hurt.'   Kris falls silent, the smile falling off his face. Suho was right, and he'd hurt Tao already. Who's to say he wouldn't do it again? No, he couldn't. He cared too much, he'd never make that mistake again. Never.    The warm water feels so good against Tao's cold skin and he just wants to stay there forever. Thoughts of Kris flash through his mind and he smiles against his will. It was so odd to have Kris know how he felt, to know that he felt the same way. At least hopefully they'd get along better now, but then again, they were so different, Tao had a feeling they'd always be at odds over some things. Tao had spent so long watching him, wanting to tell him, but now everything was different; now he could take his time, fall in love a little bit at a time. And Kris would always be there. Nothing could come between them. Nothing.   Tao shuts the water off, drying himself off and getting dressed, pulling on Kris's jacket over his white tee shirt and jeans. His glances in the mirror, twisting his newest piercing, a stud in the top arch of his ear. He smiles, running his hands through his dark hair a few times before walking downstairs to eat breakfast with the others, his feet shuffling against the hardwood stairs as he glances up, surveying the scene before him.   Kris is sitting in between Baekhyun and Lay on the bench, trying fervently to reassure Baekhyun that the he caught the spider and put it outside while Chanyeol looks on, his dark eyes sleepy and amused. Suho is pretending to be captivated by his newspaper even though Tao can tell he's just using it as a reason to look in Lay's direction. Xiumin is sitting alone on the other side of the table, Chen's absence obvious and startlingly. Tao takes a seat next to the pink haired boy, smiling at him,   "Morning Xiu. Why all alone? It's so weird to see you without your Chen."   He watches the older boy flush a deep shade of red as Tao says the words 'your Chen' and his voice is slightly amused when he speaks,   'My Chen is out buying me a Christmas present. Leave it to Jongdae to wait until Christmas Eve to finally get me a gift.'   Tao isn't looking directly at him, but he swears Kris flinches as Xiumin mentions gifts. Did he not get Tao anything? Tao had bought him a gift weeks ago, had Kris really not gotten him a gift? But that didn't really matter anyway, he would rather have Kris as his boyfriend than any gift he could buy. But were they even dating? Kris had said they were, but they weren't really. Not yet. Tao just needed a little more time. It had been sort of a shock, to find out how Kris felt about him and of course he needed time to think-   'Tao. Are you okay?'   Kris's deep gentle voice pulls Tao out of his thoughts and he glances up. One moment looking into Kris's eyes and he remembers, everything was going to be fine, it already was. What was he even worried about? He smiles, a sigh of contentment escaping his lips,   "I'm so much more than just 'okay'."   Kris smiles and looks down for a moment before glancing back up, he looks about to speak when there's a clattering in the hall and Chen's voice sounds from the doorway.   'Kim Minseok! Don't you dare peek! I have to go hide your present in my room.'   Tao laughs, turning back to Xiumin and placing his hands gently over the pink haired boy's eyes, his fingers feeling cold against Xiumin's flushed skin,   "It's okay Chen! I'll make sure he doesn't see."   He can hear Chen laughing and sees him hurry by, snowflakes in his curly hair. Tao catches a glimpse of a pastry box in Chen's arms and smiles, Xiumin was sort of obsessed with the buns he was nicknamed after; he would love it. Tao can hear Chen run up the stairs and also hear him return as he releases Xiumin, glancing up as he sees Kris pouring him a cup of tea. The older boy smiles and gestures to the tea pot,   'Matcha. Happy Christmas Eve, Tao.'   The way he says it and the genuine smile on his face makes Tao feel warm inside, as if he's drinking hot chocolate. He's so lucky. Suho finally tears his gaze away from Lay, smiling as he calls to Chen,   'Jongdae! Hurry up, I'm waiting on you!'   Chen's laugh sounds from the stairs as he hurries down the last few steps, taking a seat next to Xiumin, his cheeks flushed from running,   'Ai, Suho-eomma, what is it?'   Chanyeol looks up, one of his eyebrows arched,   'Oh no. Don't tell me this is another Christmas-day thingy for Tao because i