Minseok hummed as Jongdae slammed him against the wall, attacking the elder’s lips with his own in a frenzy of steamy passion.

Their hands fumbled at one another’s clothes, desperate to get rid of them and just get lost in the feeling of hands and lips against skin.

“,” Minseok breathed as Jongdae’s leg pushed between his own and rubbed against him teasingly. By this point, his shirt was hanging open, falling from one shoulder and his jeans were undone, ready to be pulled down as his bulge pressed against the soft cotton of his boxer briefs. Jongdae’s hands were on his chest, feeling him all over as he nipped and at the elder’s collar bones.

Minseok’s hands were on Jongdae’s back, his t-shirt already having been tossed aside the moment they’d gotten back to the room. He let his fingertips tease over Jongdae’s shoulder blades before he let his nails press into the younger boy’s warm skin and scrape downwards, toying with him as he left thin red lines in their wake.

“You’re so hot” Jongdae murmured against Minseok’s jaw, moving to connect their lips again.

Minseok gasped as Jongdae reached down and grabbed his , forcing Minseok to rut against him and create more friction, “Don’t make it weird” he breathed, glancing up at Jongdae, who looked devilishly handsome with his hair dishevelled and his chest flushed with anticipation.

There were a lot of ways that Minseok expected it to go from there, what he hadn’t expected however, was for Jongdae to take a step back looking slightly annoyed.

“What’s making it weird?” he asked hotly, “It was a bloody compliment”

Minseok sighed, running a hand over his hair, “Jongdae… It’s just easier if we don’t say things like that” he said calmly.

“Right” Jongdae barked a harsh laugh, “Right, yeah, because god forbid that any unwanted feelings slip into this, right?”

Minseok paused, slightly taken aback, “You knew what this was when you agreed to it” he shot back, finding himself getting slightly angry at that Jongdae was implying.

“Well things change” Jongdae said shortly, “Are you really trying to tell me that you feel nothing?!” he demanded.

Minseok shifted awkwardly, moving to lean his head back against the wall in frustration, “Why does it always have to mean something?! It’s not… it’s just , Jongdae. That’s all it was ever going to be!” he avoided the question.

“You’re a ing heartless bastard, you know that?!” Jongdae shouted, his eyes welling up, “You can honestly stand there and tell me that this means nothing to you?! That I mean nothing to you?!”

Minseok’s eyes narrowed as he pushed himself off of the wall, “How dare you?!” he yelled back heatedly, “Don’t you dare say that I don’t ing care about you! That you mean nothing to me! I told you, I told you, when this all started that I wasn’t looking for anything serious. That I didn’t want more than what it was, and you said you were fine with that!”

“I was!” Jongdae countered, “But I can’t help that I got ing feelings for you, Minseok! How can you stand there and tell me that this is just for you after everything? All the ing looks and touches and – and cuddling?!”

Minseok growled in annoyance, “Because we’re friends, Jongdae! Friends do that , it isn’t my fault that you got too invested in something that doesn’t exist!” he shot back. He knew as soon as he said it that it was too harsh, but there was no taking it back. He didn't want to face what he felt for Jongdae. Not yet... Not when he was bound to mess it all up. 

A bitter taste came to his mouth as he realised he probably aready had...

“Doesn’t exist?! Are you kidding me? So that’s it, you’re just gonna act like this meant nothing?!” Jongdae choked out, obviously hurt, as tears fell over and ran down his cheeks.

Minseok sighed, “It didn’t mean anything” he said, his voice catching slightly as the anger all but left him and an emptiness began to creep into his chest, “I never felt that way for you”

Lies. All of it lies, but he couldn't admit it to himself, let alone Jongdae.

Jongdae’s lip trembled, “How can you even say that?” he croaked, tears falling onto his chest, “How can you… just…”

“I’m sorry, Jongdae” Minseok whispered, “I’m sorry, but I can’t give you what you want from me”

Every part of Minseok knew that he was lying to himself. He knew that the brokenness in his chest was because he could feel Jongdae slipping through his fingers. He tried to put it down to the fact that Jongdae was just an amazing friend and he didn’t know that this would mean for their friendship.

He didn’t want to lose Jongdae, not ever. He cared about him a lot, probably more than he cared about anyone else, because he was his Jongdae.

Only… he wasn’t.

“So you’re telling me that this past year and a half, two years... God, however long it's been, you’ve felt nothing for me?” Jongdae sobbed.

Minseok opened his mouth to answer, but the words just wouldn’t come out.

Jongdae nodded, more to himself that anything else, “I have to go” he sniffed, crying to calm himself down, though the tears kept coming.

“Jongdae…” Minseok reached out as though to grab him, but was shoved away as Jongdae began to collect his clothes.

“Don’t. Don’t act like this can be fixed by you telling me that this was all nothing” Jongdae said, dressing himself haphazardly, “I’m in love with you, Minseok, don’t you get that?! I love you!”

Again, Minseok found himself lost for words, “Jongdae…” he repeated, as though it was the only thing left that he knew how to say.

“Don’t. Just… don’t” Jongdae shook his head before turning on his heel and walking out of the room, leaving Minseok to slide down the wall and regret every word that had left his mouth.

Jongdae didn’t look back as he stormed down the corridor and made his way up to the main deck, where he found the closest bar and sat down angrily.

“What can I get you?” the guy behind the bar asked, looking at Jongdae with a uneasy expression.

Jongdae wiped rapidly at his face with the back of the sleeve, “Whatever you have that’s strong enough to make me forget that I’m in love with a ing arsehole” came his answer.

The guy paused for a brief moment before grabbing a glass and pouring Jongdae a shot of ominous looking liquid. “There’s no coming back from this, kid” he said, sliding it across to Jongdae, who took it down in one shot, not even so much as wincing at the harsh burn that followed it down.

“Another” Jongdae sniffed, sliding his glass back over to the guy, who complied.

It carried on like that until Jongdae began to feel slightly lightheaded and switched to something a little lighter. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he vaguely recalled the bartender saying that he should have some water – advice which was ignored.

As far as Jongdae was concerned, he didn’t give a flying about anything or anyone – or at least he was trying not to. He just wanted to drink away his troubles and not think about the fact that he had basically just poured his heart out only to have it ripped from his chest and shat on, because that was not a fun ing feeling.

He briefly thought that maybe he should go back to the room and force Minseok to be real with him, force him to at least say something about his confession. He’d said nothing and that had hurt more than if Minseok had of flat out told him that he meant all to him.

Telling someone you love them and having them only say your name back, as though they just didn’t want to have that conversation, well it and Jongdae hated feeling like he wasn’t wanted.

He wanted to feel something, anything other than the brokenness that he was feeling in that moment.

Maybe he should have just gone back to the room and cried it out before falling asleep like a broken hearted teenager going through their first experience of being dumped.

Instead, Jongdae stumbled out of his chair and walked over to where a group of drunken girls were dancing together to the heavy beat of the music in the air.

“Hey, come join us!” One of them yelled drunkenly, reaching out and pulling Jongdae into their circle, where he easily fell into sync with them, swaying his hips and grinding against them as they giggled, until one of them took the initiative and pressed her lips to his in a sloppy kiss.

He kissed her back just as messily, his tongue pressing into as his head began to feel lighter and lighter until he was pulling away and laughing loudly, stumbling to and fro as he did.

“…ae?”

A hand landed on his shoulder and span him around, where he came face to face with Junmyeon, who was closely followed by Yixing.

“Jongdae, can you hear me?” Junmyeon asked, worry etched on his face.

Jongdae blinked, he looked around and noted that he was dark now, it hadn’t been when he’d left Minseok in their room, time must have gotten away with him.

“Dae, come on, answer me” Junmyeon said, placing a hand on either of Jongdae’s cheeks and forcing the drunken mess of a boy to look at him.

Yixing sighed from behind Junmyeon, “He’s absolutely ed” he noted briefly.

“I noticed” Junmyeon sighed, “Help me get him back to his room?”

Yixing nodded, moving to Jongdae’s side, as Junmyeon shifted to stand on the other before they each grabbed one of his arms and began the journey back to Jongdae and Minseok’s room.

When they were there, the found Minseok on the bed, looking a little worse for wear.

“Jongdae?!” He gasped, standing up as the three walked into the room, “What’s wrong? What happened to him?” he asked worriedly.

Junmyeon sighed as he and Yixing set Jongdae down on the bed, where he fell limp and gazed blankly up at the ceiling, muttering to himself as he did.

“He had a bit too much to drink” Junmyeon told his friend, “He was necking on with some random girl when we found him. Do you know how long he was up there? He’s absolutely off his face” he said.

Minseok looked over at Jongdae guiltily, “He left the room about six hours ago” he said, “It was all my fault… We – We were hooking up like usual and then we got into this stupid fight about f-feelings and I told him that I didn’t… that I didn’t feel anything and he… he got really upset and just took off”

“Hey,” Junmyeon said, placing a calming hand on Minseok’s shoulder, “Hey, it isn’t your fault. He’s a grown man, he’s the one that made the bad choice today. But something tells me that you two do need to talk about things…”

“Maybe when he’s not talking to the walls” Yixing suggested helpfully, glancing at Jongdae who was still grumbling to himself.

Minseok sighed, “Yeah. Look, you guys might as well take off. I’ll keep an eye on him. It isn’t like I have anything better to do anyway” he said, “Thanks for bringing him back safely”

“Any time” Yixing smiled, “But you two should definitely talk about this. There’s obviously more to this than you’re willing to admit to yourself”

Minseok hummed, “Yeah” he said blankly as he walked them to the door, “I’ll see you tomorrow probably”

“See you” Junmyeon and Yixing said before taking their leave.

Minseok closed the door behind them before moving over to where Jongdae laid on the bed. He took his time about taking off the younger’s shoes and socks, tossing them to one side before he managed to get Jongdae out of his clothes and under the covers.

He walked over and turned off the big light, then switched on the lamp by the bed.

“You’re a ing moron, you know that” he said, though there was no malice in his words, as he took a seat on the bed beside Jongdae and gently began to card his fingers through the younger boy’s hair soothingly.

Jongdae closed his eyes at the sensation before looking blearily up at Minseok, “I just didn’t want to be upset anymore”

“You kissed some random girl” Minseok stated, a frown set on his face.

Jongdae said nothing for a long time, he just watched Minseok watch him as the elder continued to his hair.

“You…” Jongdae cut himself off before sighing and trying again, “I’m in love with you. I told you I’m in love with you and you didn’t even say anything”

“I didn’t know what to say” Minseok whispered, jumping slightly when Jongdae reached out and grabbed his free hand to lace their fingers together.

“It wasn’t even about knowing what to say. It’s about knowing what you didn’t say” Jongdae said, and though it didn’t make sense, it still did.

Minseok sighed again, “I don’t exactly have the best track record with dating, Jongdae. What happens if… if I this up and you never talk to me again? I can’t lose you, Dae. You mean so ing much to me and it would kill me if I lost you”

“Then don’t it up” Jongdae commented helpfully, his voice surprisingly steady considering how much he’d drank, though in that moment, he’d never felt so sober in his life.

It was as though Minseok had a sobering effect on him, made him think straight even though he knew he should probably have been comatose right then and there.

“You saw how today went down” Minseok scoffed, “You really think I’m capable of making this work?”

“Tell me how you really feel” Jongdae said, ignoring Minseok’s self-deprecating question.

Minseok didn’t even hesitate as he answered; “I love you, too. But-”

“No buts” Jongdae cut him off, “Why can’t you just let yourself love me?”

“Are you willing to not hate me if this doesn’t end well?”

“I couldn’t hate you even if I wanted to, Min” Jongdae sighed, pulling Minseok into a hug, letting the elder curl up against his side, “Never”

Minseok nodded thoughtfully, “Okay” he whispered, “I’ll cave. But I’m not making any promises as to whether it’ll last, okay?”

“Okay”

“And just so you know” Minseok added, “If you so much as think of kissing another person again, I will you up so bad that you won’t even know what happened to you, Kim Jongdae”

Jongdae laughed slightly, “So you were jealous then?” he asked, “That I kissed someone else?”

“No” Minseok pulled back to look at Jongdae with narrowed eyes, “Because whether we’re together or not, you’re mine. You got that?”

Jongdae raised a brow, “I don’t think that’s how it works, Min” he pointed out.

“Do I look like I was giving you a choice?” Minseok shot back.

Jongdae snorted before pulling Minseok back into his arms and holding him tightly so that he couldn’t escape, “Whatever you say, Min” he hummed tiredly, “Whatever you say”.

--

“Is there always this much drama going on in your life?” Yixing asked as he and Junmyeon walked down to the lower deck and into the dimly lit longue, where there was a gentleman on stage playing the piano, with a woman sat atop of it singing.

They walked over towards the back and sat themselves in a small booth, where they were pressed together snuggly, not that either of them minded.

“Pretty much” Junmyeon answered, moving his arm so that it was wrapped around Yixing’s shoulders, allowing the Chinese man to cuddle into his side as they watched the singer.

“The most drama I get is because of Luhan running his mouth all the time” Yixing said quietly as a complimentary pot of tea and a plate of biscuits were placed in front of them, for which both he and Junmyeon thanked the waitress, who gave them a gentle smile before wondering off to where an older gentleman was trying to get her attention.

“She was pretty” Junmyeon commented as Yixing leant forward to pour them both a cup of tea. He’d always enjoyed tea before bed. He found it comforting.

He left the cups on the table to cool as he turned back to look at Junmyeon, “Was she?” he asked, his voice easy and casual.

Junmyeon nodded, “Yeah. But she didn’t hold a candle to you” he said cheekily, laughing quietly when Yixing threw a leg over his to get more comfortable.

“You’re gross” Yixing grinned back at him.

“Nah,” Junmyeon shook his head, “I just have a thing for dimples” he reached over and poked at Yixing’s cheek, making him smile.

A mischievous glint came to Yixing’s eyes as he grabbed Junmyeon’s hand before leaning in as though to kiss him but paused a centimetre away from Junmyeon’s lips, “Obviously I have a thing for grandpas in terrible shirts” he smirked.

Junmyeon didn’t bother to waste time coming back with a ty retort, instead he grabbed Yixing by the collar and set about kissing him whole-heartedly. Yixing deserved it for being such a tease, besides, by the way he kissed back it looked like he didn’t mind all that much anyway.

It was a short while later that Yixing broke the kiss, but he remained close enough that his lips brushed against Junmyeon’s when he said; “How much did you want to do that last night when you walked me to my room?”

“Don’t you mean, how much did I want to do that the minute I laid eyes on you?” Junmyeon countered, exuding confidence as he let his tongue dart out and swipe teasingly over Yixing’s plump bottom lip. “You’re all kinds of y”

Yixing hummed, “Good to know” he smirked, his fingers playing lazily with the hairs on the nape of Junmyeon’s neck, “I want to keep you on your toes”

“I want you on your back” Junmyeon responded wittily before kissing Yixing again, slow and lazy until the woman on stage started a second new song. “Tea?” Junmyeon asked as Yixing leant back to relaxed in the seat.

“Please” Yixing nodded, accepting the cup gratefully. “You know, I never had you pegged for someone so confident when I first saw you” he added before taking a sip of the soothing liquid.

Junmyeon laughed softly, “To be fair, I’m not usually so forward. But I do have confidence in myself. Well, only when it’s obvious that an attraction isn’t strictly one sided”

“And I thought I’d been hiding it so well” Yixing sighed dramatically, quickly finishing off his tea before reaching for a biscuit, which was gone pretty fast. He did have quite the sweet tooth after all.

Junmyeon let out a low snort of laughter, “I’ll bet” he retorted “You wanna go for a swim once you’ve finished inhaling those biscuits?”

Yixing pretended to look offended, “I’m eating them at a normal pace, thank you!” he said, wolfing down his forth peanut butter cookie. “But yeah, sounds like a plan. Let’s go to the indoor pool though. It’s always less crowded”

“I see how it is. Trying to get me all on my own so that you can have your wicked way with me” Junmyeon said, pretending to look scandalised as Yixing slapped him on the chest with a sweet laugh.

He let out a soft breath as he removed his legs from Junmyeon and stood up, offering his hand as he did, “Come on, let’s get changed so we can swim”

Junmyeon accepted the offered hand and allowed Yixing to pull him to his feet, “Don’t you have to wait like an hour after eating though?” he asked as Yixing began to pull him along. Granted it had been a little over two hours since they’d eaten dinner.

“It was a couple of biscuits, not a hog-roast” Yixing laughed, “Relax”

“I was just looking out for your well-being” Junmyeon muttered childishly, making Yixing laugh again.

The made it to Yixing’s room pretty quickly, where Yixing pulled Junmyeon inside. It was empty save the two of them, much to Junmyeon’s relief. He didn’t know if he could handle Luhan at that moment in time.

Yixing gently pushed Junmyeon back against the closed door, snapping him back into reality.

“I thought you were getting changed” he pointed out confusedly, but stopped as Yixing moved in and took Junmyeon’s bottom lip between his teeth, giving it a teasing tug before releasing it, “Oh” Junmyeon voiced.

Yixing hummed, “Yeah,” he said, “Oh.”

“The others will probably be back soon” Junmyeon sighed reluctantly.

Yixing smirked, “So we won’t do anything. I mean we’re gonna make out, but I don’t after five days of knowing someone” he said mischievously.

Junmyeon spluttered, “That isn’t what I-” but whatever he was going to say was cut off as Yixing kissed him firmly on the lips, effectively shutting him up.

If ever there was a way that Junmyeon would happily stop taking for another person, then this was it.

He let his hands come to hold onto Yixing’s hips as Yixing’s buried themselves in his hair – a habit that he’d noticed the younger seemed to enjoy. Yixing deepened the kiss as he tugged playfully at Junmyeon’s soft locks.

Junmyeon pushed his tongue into Yixing’s mouth and teased at the other’s, his way around the hot warmth and mapping out patterns as he did.

Yixing moaned breathily as he pressed himself more firmly against Junmyeon, nudging the elder’s knees apart and pressing a leg between them to rut againt him, earning a beautiful gasp from Junmyeon in return.

“, Yixing,” Junmyeon groaned against Yixing’s mouth, “You’re gonna make me hard if you keep this up”

Yixing smirked into their kiss, “Then you’ll have to be quiet when you thinking about me in the shower later” he breathed, “Unless you don’t care who hears you. I know I don’t. M'pretty sure Luhan heard me touching myself  last night” he moved to take Junmyeon’s earlobe between his teeth, “I was definitely thinking about you when I came all over myself… thinking about how good it’d feel to have you deep inside of me…”

Junmyeon whimpered as Yixing’s hands slid down his back and slipped under his shirt to feel his body, “What – Tell me what you imagined me doing to you” he breathed, his head tilting back and hitting the door with a soft thump.

Yixing hummed, his leg rubbing against Junmyeon teasingly, “Which time?” he chuckled lowly.

“Oh god,” Junmyeon whined.

“There’s always one thing that plays over and over in my head though, no matter how I imagine it,” Yixing purred, “I always think about how it’ll feel for you to pin me down, holding my wrists so tightly that they bruise. I think about you and biting at my body until I’m so hard and leaking that it physically hurts me… and then, just when I’m about to give in to it all, you’ll finally let me have it. You’ll show me how good boys get rewards” he breathed, pulling back slightly to see the darkness of Junmyeon’s lust filled eyes as he bit down on his lip and gripped hard on Yixing’s lips.

He shot Yixing a look of complete and utter want, looking at though he was ready to completely devour him, “You’re such a ing tease, Zhang Yixing”

“I know” Yixing smirked, “Do you think it’ll be worth it though?” he whispered seductively against Junmyeon’s lips, giving him a half-hearted kiss as he ed his hips forward harshly and made Junmyeon positively mewl at the sensation.

That idea went straight to Junmyeon’s , “Holy ” he panted as Yixing’s lips moved to tease over the expanse of his neck, “That’s not playing fair” he said, rolling his hips to get more friction.

“I never said anything about playing fair” Yixing pointed out before coaxing Junmyeon into a lazy, lingering kiss.

Junmyeon’s answering groaned was swallowed as Yixing deepened the kiss, stepping up his game and showing the elder just how easy it was for him to make him fall apart.

Junmyeon knew that he was putty in Yixing’s pretty hands. He didn’t even care that Yixing wouldn't sleep with him at this point, he didn’t care about anything as Yixing to the point that he was almost coming in his jeans.

“Jesus Christ” Junmyeon panted against Yixing’s kiss-swollen lips, one of his hands slipping into the back pocket to Yixing’s jeans and playfully grabbing at his .

Yixing smirked, pulling back slightly to look at just how undone he’d made Junmyeon, “Not quite” he said, “But I appreciate the compliment”

“I hate you so much right now” Junmyeon whimpered as Yixing moved to his neck again and left another mark that was sure to be purple by the next morning. “So ing much”

Yixing kissed it once he’d finished his handy work then lifted his head again to trail sweet kissing from Junmyeon’s jaw, back to his lips, a complete contrast to the sinful way that he was rolling his hips to meet Junmyeon’s slightly erratic s, enjoying the friction that resulted, “But you don’t though” he whispered surely.

All Junmyeon knew for certain then, was that Yixing was a devil in disguise.

And Junmyeon had never wanted to be dragged to hell so much in his life.

Zhang Yixing was going to be the death of him and by God, he was very, very okay with that.

--

Kris smiled to himself as he watched Tao sway happily to the soft music playing over the speakers.

The younger turned to look back at Kris, a smile blooming on his face as his eyes met the elder’s. he was quick to walk over to him and smile contently as Kris wrapped him in his arms, leaning against the railings and listening to the waves splash against the boat as he did.

“Let’s take a picture” Tao suggested, pulling out his phone and handing it to Kris.

Kris held his arm out as they posed in front of the moon, the stars twinkling behind them in the dark never-ending sky.

Kris snapped a few pictures of them grinning happily at the camera before passing the phone back to Tao, who looked over the pictures.

He liked it when he and Kris took random pictures together, it reminded him that Kris was always there and had always been there for him. Kris was someone that Tao admired a lot, as a partner and as a friend, but mostly as a person.

Kris was someone that just gave off an aura of coolness, he was someone that seemed harsh upon first sight, but when you got to know him he was a complete softie. Most people saw Kris as dorky or silly, but the truth was he was actually one of the most amazing people that Tao had ever had the good fortune of meeting.

Kris was smart and funny and he was so, so caring that it was almost ridiculous. He had a habit of putting everyone first, even if it mean sacrificing his own happiness to do so and that was something that Tao thought was so amazingly admirable, because as much as he wished he could, Tao knew that he would never be able to be that selfless. He wasn’t selfish by any means, but he was able to put himself first from time to time, which Kris never seemed to it. It seemed like it never even occurred to the elder to do so and that had always been something that both impressed and baffled Tao.

“How’re you feeling, Taozi?” Kris asked, “The sickness tablets are working okay, right?”

“I’m fine, Yifan” Tao said softly, turning to Kris again, “You worry too much”

Kris shook his head, “Nah, you’re just not careful enough” he countered, “Need I remind you of the time you almost fell down the elevator shaft?” he raised a brow.

“That was a mere misplacement of judgement, okay” Tao huffed cutely.

Kris grinned, “Does that mean that I’m not allowed to count the time you walked into the living room and pulled down your trousers in the middle of the room because you forgot you weren’t in the bathroom?”

“We promised never to speak of that!” Tao groaned, a look of pure betrayal on his cat-like features.

Kris let out an amused chuckle before wrapping an arm around Tao’s shoulders and pulling him into a side hug, “You know I’m just teasing” he said, “I love you really”

“I know” Tao grinned back, “I love you too. It’s why I let you get away with being such a ”

Kris snorted, “Oh gee, thanks Tao. You always say the sweetest things to me”

Kris had met Tao when the younger had shown up in one of the late night classes he taught. It wasn’t as though Tao stood out to him at first. He was a pretty hyped up kid with an eager to learn attitude and Kris had enjoyed teaching him.

Tao had ended up staying behind after class one night to help Kris pack away chairs and push the tables to the side when he told Kris that the reason he wanted to learn English so much was because he wanted to be able to interact with his students better.

It was then that Kris found out that Tao was a trainee Wushu instructor – though in the years since he had become the main instructor –  at the gym not far from where Kris taught his English classes and from there they got talking about a lot of things. About what brought them to Korea, about where they’d come there from. Kris from Canada, though he’d lived in Guangzhou until he was ten, and Tao from China, Qingdao, to be more specific.

It was from there that Kris began to form a friendship with Tao, until he realised that he liked Tao a lot more than that. He’d asked Tao on a date after they’d started to hang out a little more outside of classes and Tao was quick to say yes, and they’d not looked back since, finding that they enjoyed being with each other more than they could have anticipated.

“You know what’s weird?” Tao said suddenly, looking at Kris with a fondness that Kris had grown to love.

Kris raised a questioning brow, “What’s that?” he asked.

“In a month, we’ll have been together for two years” Tao told him, “How crazy is that?”

Kris nodded, “I know right? It doesn’t seem like five minutes since you walked into my class with bright blue hair and looking completely lost” Kris teased.

Tao rolled his eyes, “I was proud of that fashion statement and I always will be. Besides, you had long blond hair, so you can’t talk. I still found you kind of hot then too, though” he shrugged, leaning more into Kris’s side as Kris began to rub his arm comfortingly.

“I never said I didn’t think you were cute” Kris chuckled, “I thought you were very cute. I thought you were even cuter when you got nervous on our first date and wouldn’t stop babbling until I kissed you”

Tao hid his face in Kris’s chest and let out a groaned, “Oh god, that was so embarrassing! I went inside and my mum was like ‘Zitao… Why were you just kissing a boy on my doorstep?’ and I literally just ran up to my room and hid until she came and made me tell her that I wasn’t into girls! And she laughed at me! She actually laughed and said that my dad owed her money!” he cringed, “That was so not cool”

“Your dad was pretty oblivious not to see it though” Kris snorted.

“He thought that I was gonna marry the neighbour’s daughter back in Qingdao” Tao shuddered, “She used to smush my face into the sandbox whenever we were forced to play together! I hated that little she-devil”

Kris snickered, “I dunno, she sounds like a catch” he joked lamely.

“You’re gonna get hit if you don’t shut up” Tao deadpanned, lifting his head to look at Kris again.

Kris grinned before pressing a cheeky kiss to Tao’s lips, “Ay, you know I’m only playing. Tsk, so touchy” he laughed, shifting slightly so that he was in front of Tao, allowing him to wrap his arms more securely around the younger boy’s waist.

“I hope you realise you’re the most awful boyfriend ever” Tao lied, a pout on his lips as he looked at Kris with an expression of forced sadness.

Kris laughed again as he leant in and pressed his nose against Tao’s neck as he hugged him, “I know. I’m so awful, aren’t I?” he played along.

“The worse” Tao nodded, though his actions played contrast to his words as he wrapped his arms tightly around Kris’s shoulders and a smile fought to take over his lips.

“Mm, the worst” Kris nodded, shifting his head to rest his chin on Tao’s shoulder and stare out at the waves that danced along the surface of the ocean behind the sailing boat.

Tao smiled slightly as Kris began to rock them side to side in time with the music that was playing, it was some sappy song that neither of them really knew, but it was fitting with the mood and that’s all that really mattered.

It was nice for them to be together like this, between jobs and sharing an apartment with Luhan and Yixing, it was rare that they got time for just the two of them, so when they were able to be with each other on their own – really on their own without any friends around – they didn’t pass up the chance. They made sure to make the most of it for as long as they could. And this cruise was the perfect chance for them to do so.

Sure, they had to sleep in the same room as their friends, but that didn’t matter, because they had so many other places that they could be alone one board, and they’d even managed to get on shore for a while when the boat had stopped at its first port on the third day. That had been quite nice.

Neither of them could remember where the first stop was, but they weren’t really paying much attention to the where, both of them being more focused on the who as they shopped around little street stalls and bought interesting food at a small restaurant.

“Maybe you’re not so bad” Tao whispered after a few moments of just swaying together to the music.

Kris hummed softly, “Is that so?”

“Yeah, well” Tao smiled shyly, “You kinda do make me the happiest I’ve ever been, so…”

Kris pulled back ever so to shoot Tao a warm grin, his eyes sparkling, “I’m glad” he said fondly, “You make me really happy to, Taozi. I’m really glad that I got to meet you”