“Ah!” Kris cried as he awoke with a shock. Tao was staring right into his eyes.

            “Ah, I’m sorry!” Tao replied, bowing slightly and stepping back. “You…you looked like you were sleeping well,” he said with a blush.

            “I was,” Kris smiled, remembering how comfortable he’d been leaning against Tao’s head. “Did you sleep well?”

            Tao’s eyes widened again as if he’d been caught. He looked down as his cheeks turned redder than they already were.

            “Yes,” he replied. “I’m sorry I fell asleep while you were reading and I’m sorry I leaned on you.”

            “Don’t worry about it,” Kris laughed. “It’s fine; I don’t mind at all.”

            Tao smiled his tiny smile again.

            “What time is it anyway?” Kris asked.

            “It’s almost ten,” Tao replied. “We still have time, right?”

            “Of course we still have time. It’s Saturday. Do you want to keep reading?”

            “Can we?” Tao asked, looking eager.

            “Sure! I like the story so far,” Kris nodded. “You have good taste.”

            And then Kris almost fainted. Or maybe he almost had a heart attack. Whatever happened, though, it was certainly a result of what Tao did.

            He smiled. Teeth showing, cheeks becoming rosy and full, his eyes getting smaller and adorable. He was suddenly a hundred times more gorgeous than he already was, and Kris just stared in awe.

            There was nothing more amazing than seeing Tao smile like that. It was so genuine, so happy, that Kris wondered why he’d never seen it before. It almost made him sad to think about it. When was the last time Tao had smiled like that?

            But at the same time, he couldn’t be sad. Not while he was looking at that expression of pure happiness on Tao’s face. He smiled back out of reflex.

            “You should smile like that more often,” Kris said quietly. Tao’s smile immediately faded, but he did look up at Kris with interest in his eyes.

            “Why?” Tao asked.

            “It makes you look happy,” Kris answered.

            “I am happy!” Tao responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I smile when I’m happy.”

            “How come I’ve never seen it then?”

            “Because…I only smile when I’m really happy.”

            “So you’re really happy right now then?” Kris laughed. Tao grinned again. God, he could get used to that smile. He’d never seen a better one. Sure, some of the other guys had nice smiles. Suho’s was nice. Chanyeol’s was good too. But Tao’s blew all of their smiles away. It wasn’t necessarily nicer or more even, but it had far more emotion and changed Tao’s face in a way that Kris couldn’t help but fall in love with.

            “I’m really happy right now,” Tao said quietly, still smiling. He sat down next to Kris again. “Let’s keep reading.”

            Kris paused for a few seconds, just looking at Tao, who had already started to read silently.

            Kris smiled contentedly as he resumed at the middle of chapter two. Tao was sitting closer to him than he had been before.

            They got back to the dorm at almost six, after having finished the entire book just reading out loud. Kris had almost held Tao’s hand on their way back. Almost.

            But he couldn’t have been happier. Tao had grinned so many times that morning and afternoon that Kris knew he was truly happy and liked spending time with Kris. They were both smiling as they walked into the door.

            “Eh?” Baekhyun, who happened to be passing, wondered aloud. “Tao, you look so happy! Did something good happen?”

            “Yeah!” Tao said, still grinning.

            “Yeah what?” Chanyeol asked as he walked in as well, sidling up next to Baekhyun. “What are you guys talking about?”

            “Tao’s happy today!” Baekhyun smiled up at Chanyeol, and Chanyeol showed his teeth as well.

            “That’s good,” Chanyeol replied. “What about?”

            “Well…” Tao said shyly, turning red.

            “Hey, you and Kris were out all day, just the two of you, weren’t you?” Chanyeol asked, glancing at Baekhyun.

            “Yes,” Tao replied.

            “Are you two dating too?” Chanyeol asked with a goofy grin on his face.

            “No—” Kris began, but he was cut short.

            “Yes,” Tao replied.

            “You are?” Baekhyun cried, and Chanyeol looked at him pointedly.

            “We are?” Kris asked, equally shocked. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Twenty-four hours before, he’d thought he was crazy to think that he’d ever have a chance with Tao and suddenly they were dating.

            It was the best news he’d gotten in a while. A huge grin broke out on his face. He had the sudden urge to kiss Tao right there in front of Baekhyun and Chanyeol, but of course he didn’t. He was contented with grinning, and Tao’s smile back up at him made it completely worth it.

            “Really?” Baekhyun continued. “Oh, this is so cool! Now we have three couples in the dorm! Have you guys kissed yet?”

            “What?” Tao squeaked, turning as red as a tomato, “of course not!”

            “Have you hugged yet?” Baekhyun continued. Tao shook his head. “Held hands?”

            “We haven’t,” Kris supplied.

            “Chanyeol and I hold hands all the time and we’re not even dating!” Baekhyun boasted, showing off the fact that his fingers were intertwined with Chanyeol’s. “You guys better get on that!”

            It didn’t matter that they hadn’t done those things yet. They had time. Kris looked forward to letting them happen.

            “Wah, this is awesome! I’m going to go tell the others!” Baekhyun sang, skipping out of the room. Chanyeol stayed behind momentarily, oddly flushed.

            “Three couples in the dorm,” he said, mostly to himself. Then he looked up at Kris. “Do you think there’ll be any more?”

            “I don’t know,” Kris replied. “I haven’t really been paying attention.” Tao really had taken up all of his consciousness for the past few weeks.

            “I have been, but I still can’t tell,” Chanyeol sighed, uncharacteristically solemn as he walked through the door to the kitchen, leaving Kris alone with Tao at last.

            Kris turned to Tao.

            “You know, I wasn’t expecting that at all,” Kris smiled.

            “It just kind of slipped out,” Tao admitted cutely. “But I really did mean it. I had more fun today with you than I can ever remember having.”

            “All we did was read, though” Kris pointed out, and Tao nodded.

            “All we needed to do was read,” he said simply, with a sweet smile.

            “You were so reluctant yesterday.”

            “Not so much reluctant as…conflicted, let’s say. Confused, maybe.”

            “Confusion is something I can understand,” Kris said, feeling excitement coursing through his body. So Tao had been confused, just as Lay had suggested.

            “Is there anyone in the living room?” Tao asked. Kris shrugged and walked into the living room, which was deserted. “Let’s watch TV then.”

            “What do you want to watch?” Kris asked.

            “Doesn’t matter; let’s just turn on the TV.” Kris chuckled at Tao’s cuteness and the TV just as he was asked. He sat down on the couch and Tao sat next to him so that their hips were almost touching.

            It wasn’t long before he felt Tao’s head drop onto his shoulder again.

            “How can you sleep so much?” Kris wondered aloud, leaning his head on Tao’s just as he had before.

            “Who says I’m asleep?” Tao replied with a smile in his voice, not bothering to move his head. 

A/N: Hooray they're a thing now!! 

I am so sorry I haven't been replying to comments, but I've been crazy busy this past week and I'm sure I'll be able to do it again next week. I still read all the comments I get and I love them a lot though, so thank you all for leaving them. I'll try harder next time~

♥ Exie