Tao is not, and never has been, an early riser, so when groans coming from the living room snatch him away from a relatively nice dream at 10:43 on a Sarturday morning, he is not happy.

He's met with the sight of a green Sehun clutching his head in apparent agony and wincing at any and all light when he walks into the living room with Panda tucked under his arm, equally as irritated and huffy as his owner. As he's heading over to the couch that Sehun has taken refuge on, a bright red patch of skin on the tiny sliver of back exposed from Sehun's position catches Tao's eye. It looks oddly enough like a sunburn, but it can't possibly be, right? No normal person gets sunburns like that from the tiniest bit of sun exposure in an apartment. But maybe its a mark from the strong grip Luhan had on Sehun all night; that sounds more reasonable. 

"You know, I think it's time that you admit that sometimes, I actually am right. I mean, I was the one who told you it was a bad idea to take those shots with Chanyeol, but of course, Sehun never listens to Tao," Tao mocks as he moves to shut the curtains. He's not as much of an as people think, and he'd rather not deal with a crabby Sehun later. 

"Can you not remind me of my mistakes right now? It's killing my head," Sehun responds, voice muffled by the couch cushion his face is embedded in. 

"I guess the 'I told you so' can wait while I get you the usual drugs." 

"Your silence is much appreciated." 

Tao lets a limp Panda slip from his arms and onto the floor as he heads to the kitchen, grabbing the promised pills and a glass of water. Sehun almost immediately downs them when he returns and is back to his regularly scheduled and groaning over his pain and stupidity. 

"I know you're just vibrating in excitement to tell me how I ed up this time, so go ahead and spill while I don't care," Sehun starts as he finally sits up, eyes finding Tao on the floor watching a rerun of some show. 

The other man snaps his head around with a smirk on his lips that makes Sehun feel the tiniest bit unsettled.

"Surprising as it is to say," Tao starts, fully turning to face Sehun now, "you weren't nearly as awful as you could have been. You got completely wasted by playing and at every drinking game you played, which is pretty normal for you, really. Other than the facts of you shoving money down some guy's pants, puking on Luhan, and blacking out, you were unusually chill." 

"You said I did what?"

"Shoved money down some guy's pants?"

"No, the part after that."

"You puked on Luhan? Why are you more worried about that of all the things you could pick out of what I just said?"  

"Maybe it's because you have no love life, but getting puked on by your drunk boyfriend is a major turn-off, Tao." 

Tao lets out an unimpressed -- and high-key offended -- scoff at his roommates indirect diss. What does Sehun know? They hardly get along enough to have a less than superficial talk most of the time, so there's no way Sehun would ever know whether or not Tao has a love life. So much for playing it nice. 

"Well guess who's not dragging your heavy back home when you're too drunk to even tell what country you live in."

All he registers as he stalks away to his room is a sarcastic laugh from Sehun and the beginnings of some smartass retort. Shutting the door behind him with enough force to wake the neighbors, he gets a head start on his typical morning routine, an added pep to his step that's never really been present before. 

Arguing with Sehun is all fun and games (not really but that's what he tells himself to not lose his mind), but Tao clearly remembers the scheme he has set for today, and it is not to spend his time trying to avoid kicking his roommate in the face with a pair of cleats. No, Tao has a stupid idea he fully plans on carrying out. He's not as pessimistic about fulfilling it as he probably should be, considering it has a hair's width of basis and no actual outline, but he surprisingly isn't. For all he knows, this plan could actually work if he tries hard enough. There's a sliver of a chance of meeting that guy again, so why not give it a go? 

Determined, Tao dresses himself in a comfortable pair of jeans followed by a hoodie one size to big that Sehun bought him for Christmas. He doesn't bother with styling his hair at all, simply combing his fingers through it enough to get it to look decent, before he's out and brushing his teeth in his shared bathroom. 

Sehun seeing a coherent and properly dressed Tao this early (or late?) in the morning has him doing a double take as the other heads to the front door, completely skipping out on his usual breakfast of soggy cereal and those disgusting granola bars he loves so much in his haste to leave.

"And where are you going? I thought you said you didn't have any plans for today," Sehun comments as he pauses in pulling a container of leftover take-out from the fridge.

"Wow, I wasn't aware I still lived with my dad."

"I'm offended that you believe I'd ever father someone like you."

"That's rude, but if you must know, I'm going out to meet someone."

"And this someone is whom?"

"If I told you, you'd just tell me that I'm crazy. Again."

It takes a minute for him to comprehend and connect the dots, but Sehun understand what Tao is getting at wholeheartedly. He's not as surprised to be honest; he expected this to happen ever since the almost accident that occured. While he's undoubtedly excited about the speedy progress of the unestablished relationship, he knows that Tao is stupid and irrational. Tao isn't known for good ideas for a reason, and Sehun has a sneaking suspicion that whatever he's planned for the day has to be one of the worst in the book. 

But for the sake of upkeeping appearances and not pissing off a certain friend for not "doing his job", Sehun reverts back to the Tao knows and loves. He can't go all fangirl on him now, not when he's known him to be a stoned-faced loser that's a er for a pretty boy named Luhan in all the time they've known each other. 

"Tao, we've been over this. Whatever you're feeling is just a feeling. There is no one following you around. There is no one watching you. It's all-"

"-just your imagination. Thanks for reminding me that you still think I'm crazy, Sehun. If you're done telling me I need to see a shrink, I'm going. See you whenever."

Tao's about to open the door when a cold hand on his wrist stops him. It's only now that he realizes how familiar it feels, like the ones used to keep him from harm.  

"You know that's not what I meant."

"Really now? Then, please, explain to me what you mean when you tell me that I'm hallucinatiing everything that happens or brush it off like I'm spouting bull. Don't even go there, Sehun. I'm tired of you and everyone else around me doubting me all the time, and I'm tired of being told I'm crazy. If you think I'm stupid, then let me go be stupid. I don't se how it concerns your life anyways." 

"Tao, that's beside the point. The point is that you're unwilling to admit that this guy you're chasing doesn't exist. Maybe moving to Korea toyed with your mind because you aren't home anymore. Maybe you're just trying to make yourself feel safe by chalking a stalker up as some kind of knight. I'm telling you, Tao, that's it's either one hundred percent unreal or you need to call the police. I know it seems like I hate you because we're always at each other's throats, but I don't want you to wind up hurt." 

"Look, I appreciate the one kind thing you've said to me in years, but I'm not about to stand here and be lectured by you of all people. Fine. So what if you think I'm losing it? I get that with how much you and everyone else breathe down my neck about it. I understand that you're worried, but you have a really ty way of showing it. I'm going out. Don't try to call me." 

With a hiss, Tao rips his wrist from Sehun's strong grip and exits the apartment in a flurry of irritation, slamming the door behind him. 

He honestly shouldn't even be this angry.

Arguments like that are definitely not few and far in between when it comes to Tao. He can't really hold a decent convversation these days with any of his so-called friends without it erupting into some type of dispute, especially when any "stalkers" are mentioned on the fly. Sure, he gets the worry they feel, but it's annoyingly overbearing to be told you need help by almost everyone he talks to. At least, everyone he talked to. They're all Sehun's friends really and only talk to Tao to make him feel less excluded. But everyone knows how that turns out. 

Honestly, they were no different than Sehun: judging him with kind smiles on their faces. 

The mere thought of those cheesy, happy-go-lucky grins pisses him off even more, and the anger he feels only makes him more determined to prove himself right. He ends up jumping head first into his plan because of it. 

But not on purpose, of course.

He doesn't mean to, but he's so caught up in his own thoughts that he completely bypasses the fact that the crosswalk sign flashes a giant "Do Not Walk" in bright red lights. The movement of zipping cars has seemingly no effect on his daze either as he steps a foot right off the side walk to cross the street. 

Seconds away from nearly being side-swiped by a speeding car, Tao is yanked right from his spot by the back of his hoodie and a strong arm is hrown around his waste from behind. It takes a moment of him standing stock-still to regain his senses and realize that he almost repeated last night's occurences and proved Sehun right, the opposite of what he plans to do, and thats when he notices the pale, muscled arm and the cold body standing behind him. 

Tao turns around so quickly, he nearly gives himself whiplash, though it's all worth it, he discovers. He catches a glimpse of familiar alabaster skin and a head of blonde hair retreating into the crowd on onlookers with fast steps. He can't see the amethyst eyes, but he knows it's him, the one he's looking for. 

And by then, Tao can't care less about nearly being rammed into be a car again because his plan actually worked (albeit unintentionally). The fact that the plan that Sehun had promised wouldn't work has gotten him somewhere, and he's unbelievably excited. To be honest, he's lost his motivation of simply proving people wrong and is back to his initial determination. He just wants to see him again. He wants to see those warm violet eyes. He wants to feel the chill of skin against his own. He wants to meet face-to-face and not face-to-shadow. 

Oddly enough, he has enough trust in this stranger to save him before anything serious happens, so if becoming one with hoods of cars is the solution, then so be it. 

Only Tao wholeheartedly abondons the idea oh-so-many purposeful accidents later. 

When he originally brainstormed this idea, he planned on only running into people carrying steaming cups of coffee or tripping a couple hundred times to bring attention to himself. He does not, however, plan on nearly being crushed by moving vehicles every time he nears a street or nearly being hit in the face by a boutique door or almost being smacked into by a kid on a bike. By now, the point that he doesn't mean to critically injure himself should be clear enough. 

But from these accidents, the tall stranger appears. Without fail, he is there to pull Tao from danger with a strong arm thrown over his waist and a comforting chill down his spine. It iseems that he managed to wear the other out considering the fact that he didn't even attempt to run away when after saving Tao from his most recent accident. He simply stood there, almost as if he was waiting for Tao to turn around, and from there, they held each other's gazes until a begrundled "excuse me" broke the moment.

At the moment, Tao has decided to rest up in one of the many secluded alleyways of the city to gather his thoughts and take a break -- and also because he left his wallet and phone back at the apartment when he stormed out earlier. 

In the middle of comteplating how he's going to get lunch without taking the walk of shame back home, he hears the crunch of glass, beer bottles most likely, under the foot of something big if the following footsteps are anything to go by. The overwhelming stench of cigarette smoke mixed with the scents of other questionable substances fills his nose at an alarming rate, but Tao doesn't bother to raise his head from its spot on his knees. If anything, it's some drunk guy trying to find his way home, an occurrence unsurprisingly common, so much so that he doesn't even chance a peek at the newcommer. 

Tao thinks it's that mistake that gets him pinned against a wall with a knife to his throat. 

Apparently, the newcomer is a man that looks to be in his late thirties, looking to mug someone for quick cash, and apparently, Tao's attacker is convinced that his victim has tons of valuables on him no matter how much he denies the fact that he doesn't because, according to him, "No normal college kid struts the streets in a Gucci hoodie." 

He tries to tell the man that the hoodie is a knock-off his friend got him (because there's no way this thing is real when Sehun can't even afford to buy his own food when they eat out, though maybe that's Tao being gullible), but the excuse only earns him a punch to the gut as the guy continues to hound him. 

"Look, I know you're looking for money, but you're not going to find it on me. I've got nothing worth stealing," Tao says, smiling in disbelief outwardly yet slowly starting to panic behind the scenes. 

Tao's statement seems to only piss the man off more than he already is, and that's how he ends up in his current predicament, pinned to a cold, hard brick wall with the threat of being stabbed if he doesn't cooperate being chanted in his ears. 

He has half a mind to put his years of martial arts experience to good use to get him out of the situation, but he can't find it within himself to do anything. Compared to the thief, Tao's but a mere twig, easily able to snap in half, and the thief has an iron grip on his wrists anyways. Besides that, his legs won't listen to him at all, kept immobile by fear, so there's no way he can start kicking and swinging his way out of this. 

He's too scared to.

He's never feared for his life more than he has right now, and he silently prays that he hasn't annoyed one of his means of protection enough for him to abandon Tao now, that his stupidity doesn't get him stabbed to death in an alleyway without any witnesses to tell the tale. 

Though when a pale hand shoots out and the burly man is off of him, Tao sighs in relief that he hasn't been abandoned like he thought, and borderline cuddles into the cold embrace that he's ed into, sighs and cries of relief and fear muffled by a stone hard chest. 

He doesn't know when he stops crying, but he does know that this man's voice is as beautiful as the rest of him. He doesn't care about the unconscious, (though he looks more likes he's dead) man lying on the frosty ground or the curious street cats that stop to stiff at their feet before going about their business. He can't hear the hustle and bustle of life. All his ears can pick up on are the gentle whispers being hummed into his ear and the hands on his back that pet him like he's too precious to touch. 

"It's okay, Tao. You're okay. I made a promise to keep you safe, and I'm not going to break it," he hears the man say, one of the hands on his back moving to tangle its appendages in his hair. 

He doesn't fail to notice that the man somehow knows his name, but he can't find it within himself to care. If the man hasn't hurt him before, why would he hurt him now?

Tao's never been one for attention, but he basks in the stare the man gives him when they regretfully seperate from each other, the way his fingers come up to wipe the remaining tears off of his cheeks. He even rests his own hand over the other's pale one, leaning into the chilly touch. Neither of them bother to speak. At least, there's no verbal communication. They, instead, communicate through their eyes, the violet pair never straying from the view of teary chocolate.

"Thank you," is the only thing he says as the other continues to pamper him, the contact between their gazes never breaking, "for evrything."

His laugh is short but genuine, and his smile is as beautiful as his appearance. "The only one that deserves a thank you is you, Tao." 

"I've done nothing but cause you trouble so far. I don't think that warrants any thanks." 

"While you were trouble, you've done much more for me than I have for you. But that's a secret for another time." 

"Your name wouldn't happen to be a secret, too, would it?" 

"In fact, it's not. My name is Kris." 

As weird as it sounds, Tao is on cloud nine. He doesn't even know anything about Kris other than his name and the fact that he follows him everywhere, but he feels an odd connection, like he's known him all his life, like they've never been apart. Kris feels familiar to him even if he's only seen him face-to-face a grand total of three times. He should be scared of the feeling, anxious even, yet he isn't. He welcomes the warmth it brings with open arms. He doesn't even care if others call him crazy anymore. He knows they will even more than usual if he ever utters a word about his chance meeting, but he can't bring himself to get angry about it. Even if he does, the cold body attached to his seems to filter the hostility out of his mind. 

A cold body that gives more warmth than he's ever felt. 

"I think Kris may actually murder you this time," Luhan utters from his spot next to Sehun.

Luhan had slithered in about an hour after he received Sehun's confirmation text that Tao was indeed out of the house. While he definitely loved Tao more than the latter loved him, he couldn't put the other at risk by having him accidentally hear his and Sehun's reserved conversation. 

"Have you met Kris? He won't do anything because of Tao. Wouldn't it be a little suspicious if I just happened to go missing for no good reason?" Sehun responds lazily, flipping through channels on the TV.

"Oh, there's plenty enough reason," a shorter, angry-looking man standing in the middle of the room sneers with a mocking tilt of his lip. "Your personality , you're annoying as , you can't do your job properly, you're constantly breaking all of Kris' ground rules. Do I need to continue?" 

Sehun would flinch if he hadn't known any better, but he knows Kyungsoo. The man is a pint-sized container of all things negative, and he aboely despises everyone, Sehun especially. He'd like to say he's grown used to it over the years, but sometimes Kyungsoo's words hit him right in the ego. 

"Stop being such a buzzkill, Soo. For one, I'm not nearly as much of an as you paint me to be, and secondly, I'm breaking these 'ground rules' for Tao's own good." 

"How is anything you've done up until now for Tao's own good? I saw them, Sehun. Together. That's not good at all! You've just put Tao in danger, and to me, that's failing at the job you were assigned." 

"What's so bad about them being together, huh? That's how it's supposed to be. They're meant for each other!" 

"Sehun, I don't think you're getting the point here. The fact of the matter is that we're dangerous. Kris, in particular, is even more of a danger to Tao's safety." Luhan steps in, placing a placating hand on Sehun's shoulder to calm him down. 

"And having the two of them actually make contact is bad. Kris may be strong for us, but that doesn't hold up when it comes to Tao. He's not going to want to hide anymore, and it's too late to convince him otherwise." 

Sehun's face lights up in a very tragic realization. Hunters. Enemies. Rivals. If Kris puts himself out in the open, he'll be an easy target to spot, and there are many people out there itching to get their hands on such a feared leader. Consequently, it probably wouldn't take very long for his weakness to be spotted, leading to Tao being the main priority on people's hit list rather than Kris. Even so, Sehun still doesn't understand what the problem is. They all knew this would happen eventually; Tao and Kris are made for each other. There was only so much waiting either of them could do before one snapped. 

"Don't get me wrong, I get the point you're trying to make, but why is it so wrong? Their meeting was inevitable, only it happened a little sooner than we expected. So what? We were trained to handle whatever is thrown at us. Just because Kris is whipped doesn't mean we can't still protect Tao if need be," Sehun affirms while trying to maintain Kyungsoo's glare. 

The living room where they're all gathered is deathly silent save for the white noise coming from the TV. Luhan feels a chill run through him at the intensity of the glare Kyungsoo shoots Sehun. While Kyungsoo looks youthful, he's quite old and extremely traditional to the clan's ways and even more stirct with any and all orders that are given. To outright disagree or disobey with his rigidness is like waving a red flag in front of a pissed off bull -- it's not the smartest idea. Sehun's challenge must set him off in more ways than one, and if Luhan hadn't been gifted with a sudden strong sense of foreboding, Sehun probably would exist at the moment. 

The moment he slips in front of the charging Kyungsoo, the latter comes to a complete halt.

"Luhan, move." comes a menacing growl from Kyungsoo.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

"I said move."

"And I said I couldn't do that, Soo. Look, I get that you're upset, but there's no reason for you to attack Sehun. I love you and all, but I will not hesitate to defend him should you do anything. I don't want to fight you." 

His words seem to be enough to calm Kyungsoo's rage as he slowly lowers his stance and glances apologetically at Luhan, who in turn also moves from his defensive position. The silence from before is replaced by a suffocating tension that no one dares to break out of fear of an actual fight. When Kyungsoo makes a swift transition from the middle of the living room to the front door, Sehun and Luhan can't help but simultaneously flinch and sigh in relief. 

"Now that they've met, I can't leave them unprotected like this. I'll be back to discuss this matter at a later time. Don't be a daumbass this time, Sehun."

With that, he leaves just as quickly as he came, the tension riding on his shoulders and therefore taking it with him. Sehun and Luhan slump into the couch in solace that he's gone.

"Next time, keep your thoughts in your head! Did you not see how pissed he already was?" Luhan pants as he rains a series of smacks onto his partner's shoulder.

"But you're hot when you get defensive." 

"Not the ing point, Sehun!"

"I'm sorry, okay. I didn't know he would flip all his s and try to attack. I take all the blame, and I promise it won't happen again."

"Fat chance of that. Everyone knows you two basically hate each other. You're going to make him angry again, and he's going to attack again, but what can you do? All that matters is that you didn't just get the beat out of you for being a smartass. Let's just forget about it for now and take a nap." 

"See? This is exactly why I love you." 

"Just shut up and cuddle me before I personally smack you." 

Decided to end with a little hunhan o.o hope you enjoyed the chapter!