Kris has always been a light sleeper, always awakened by the simplest of things. So the muffled groans coming from another room roused him almost instantly. Reaching for his watch on the nightstand beside his bed, he groaned inwardly when he saw it was three in the morning. Sliding out of bed, he pulls a shirt over his head, his skin already breaking out in goosebumps from the sudden change in temperature. The floor feels like ice, causing Kris to shiver as his feet make contact. Wondering when the temperature dropped so drastically, he's just thankful he wore sweats to bed tonight instead of the boxers he usually wears. Slipping a pair of socks over his feet, he finally gets off of his bed and makes his way to the hallway, in search of the noise that woke him up in the first place.

 

Opening the door to Lu Han's room, the sound of light snoring makes its way to Kris's ears. Moving along to Lay and Chen's room, Kris can see that all is well in their room as well. Making his way to the room shared by Xiu Min and Tao, Kris finds the source of the groans and hushed whispers that woke him up as he opens the door.

 

"Argh, Tao, that's ing cold," Xiu Min can be heard saying as Tao holds a piece of ice below his eye, slowly sliding it back and forth.

 

"Talk about deja vu. What happened to your eye, Min Seok?"

 

"Zi Tao hit me."

 

"Did you let him sleep with you or something?"

 

"Are you kidding? I've seen what that does to Lu Han. It sounded like Tao was having a bad dream, so I went over there to see if he was okay, and the second I touched him a fist came flying at my face."

 

"I'm sorry, Min Seok ge. I didn't mean to hit you. I was just startled is all." Tao holds his hands in front of him, telling them silently to wait. "I'll be right back." Tao scampers out of the room, coming back with an egg, the deja vu feeling hitting Kris even harder.

 

"Panda, have you forgotten what happened last time you tried to fix a bruise with an egg? Because I do. I had to go broke and bake a damn cake."

 

"Silly ge. I remember. I boiled eggs last night just in case I hurt someone again." Plopping himself down beside Xiu Min, Tao softly rolls the egg back and forth over the fresh bruise beneath Xiu Min's eye. "I'm really sorry. I would never intentionally hit you." Getting down on his knees in front of Xiu Min, Tao says, "Here. Punch me in the eye. It's okay."

 

That strikes Kris as funny, causing him to laugh. "An eye for an eye, eh? You know, they say that makes the world go blind."

 

Xiu Min, wrapping his arms around Tao and pulling him into a tight hug, let's Tao know he'd never hit anybody, especially Tao. "You're my roommate, Tao. You're the person I'm closest to in this dorm. You really think I could just hit you because you tell me to? It's not like I've never been hit. I've just never had a black eye. Heh. Let's just go back to sleep, and in the morning, we'll be back to normal. Okay? Tao? Zi Tao?" Xiu Min, pulling back a bit from the hug, finds Tao sleeping. "Wow. He gets himself so worked up when he hits someone that he actually tires himself out."

 

"I'm sure it doesn't help that it's three in the morning. Here, give him to me and I'll put him to bed. You just get rid of the egg and all of that ice and go back to sleep." Putting one arm behind Tao's knees, and another around his shoulders, Kris picks Tao up and carries him the few feet to his bed. After laying him down on the mattress, Kris stays around for a few minutes to make sure Tao stays asleep, lazily rubbing small circles on Tao's stomach with the palm of his hand.

 

That's the first thing Xiu Min notices when he walks back into the bedroom. "Lucky. Why isn't Tao Wushuing your into next year? I barely touched him and he acted like I was about to a knife into his back."

 

Kris just shrugs, wondering the same thing quietly to himself. "I'll stay here until you fall asleep too." Removing his hand from Tao's stomach, he sits there talking quietly to Xiu Min about their day. "Tao really does get himself worked up easily. I'll be amazed if he lives past fifty without having at least one heart attack."

 

Xiu Min nods. "I'll be amazed if he lives past fourty without one. I'd imagine the only thing that would keep him from worrying so much would be if he was around you."

 

"What are you talking about?"

 

"Look," Xiu Min points at Tao as he says that. Kris turns to look at what Xiu Min means.

 

"Because he's smiling in his sleep? That's not because of me."

 

"I disagree. Look again," and again, Xiu Min points at Tao. "Lower."

 

Kris moves his eyes from Tao's face to his stomach, surprised to find that, without realizing it, he'd went back to slowly rubbing Tao's stomach. "When did that happen?"

 

"Almost right after you took your hand away the first time," Xiu Min says with a chuckle. "He may get on your nerves at times, but you worry about him more than anybody else here. And lucky for all of us, you're like the human personification of Xanax for Tao."

 

"You've seen how the littlest things can set him off. How can I not worry?"

 

"I suppose. I'm supposed to hang out with Lay and Lu Han tomorrow, so I guess I should try to get back to sleep."

 

"Night, Min Seok."

 

Turning onto his side, facing the wall, he says the same to Kris. "If I'm gone when Tao gets up later, tell him I'm fine. We both know he'll be asking."

 

Kris nods, then mentally slaps his forehead when he reminds himself that Xiu Min is facing away from him. "Will do." Removing his hand from Tao's stomach for the second time, Kris stretches before he stands up before making his way to the door. As his hand makes contact with the doorknob, he remembers how cold it is. Heading back to Tao's bed, he takes his blanket, appropriately covered in baby pandas, and pulls it up to the younger one's neck. Pushing a few loose strands of hair from Tao's forehead, he whispers, "Sweet dreams, Panda" before heading back to his room.

 

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A/N: Started early tonight! Didn't wanna leave it for the last minute like the last 2 times.

 

Thought about making Lu Han the victim in this one as well, then decided that poor boy has been through enough. Lol. So Xiu Min made the sacrifice for him. xD

 

Anyway! Hope you enjoy this new chapter and the Taoris action I finally threw in here. ^_^
 

Also! If you have a Tumblr, feel free to add me here. :]

 

Enjoy the newest chapter!