Snow was finally falling; coating Beijing in a thin blanket stretched on past the city limits. The powder flew on the wind with every car that glided through it;  ice crystallized over the street lamps, cracking the glass light bulbs while frost fogged store windows and frozen puddles on the sidewalk. Though the scenery was breath taking, it was also deadly. The white phantom that strolled through the streets made it dangerous for cars to drive on, especially since it was the first snow fall of the season.

With the roads blocked for clearing and the company van in the shop, the EXOM boys had no choice but to stay in their dorm and enjoy the snow day. But who was complaining? The members were gathered in the living room, sprawled out with cushions on the floor and blankets draped around their thin bodies. Mugs once filled with the warm treat of hot chocolate were now discarded on various tables and whatever else had room to hold them. The boys' eyes were trained on the TV, watching what looked to be a Halloween movie.

"Hey," Xiumin spoke up, breaking the silence, "If we were in a horror movie, who do you think would survive?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Jongdae scoffed, "I would!"

"That attitude will get you killed first," Lay snickered, "I actually think Luhan would live."

"Really?" the said boy's face brightened up.

"Yeah, with girly looks like that the killer may mistake you for one and keep you as his slave."

The room burst with laughter; they watched with amused smiles as Luhan climbed over the couch and tried to tackle Lay, only to get his foot stuck in the cushion gap and fall. The noise of light hearted merriment drifted through the empty hallways and soon died outside the room that belonged to the youngest member.

Tao was curled in a ball, the blankets pulled over his head as he grimaced at the muffled cackling that their thin walls couldn't cover. He pulled his legs closer to his chest and buried his head into his pillow.

Tao felt sick. His brain was beating against his skull, pounding in rhythm with his pulse and sending waves of pain with it. He felt like his insides were fighting a war, tearing each other apart with violent punches and churning.  Tao hadn't worn the best clothing when he went out with the Duizhang the night before and could have possibly caught a cold. 

If that was the case, the boy was screwed. Tao had a strong immune system, so it was pretty rare for him to get sick. However, when he did catch something, his body became sensitive to every little symptom and amplified them ten times worse. 

The clamor from outside grew louder when the door opened and footsteps shuffled inside. With a click, the room was silent again and Tao rolled over to look at the intruder.

Kris stayed standing on the other side of the room, a steaming cup in his hand as he analyzed the raven haired boy’s condition. Looks likes he had trouble sleeping, he thought, seeing Tao's prominent panda circles look darker than usual. The leader stepped further inside and stopped at the edge of his bed. The maknae continued to watch him curiously, expecting some sort of explanation for being in his room.

“Xiumin said you looked a little under the weather,” he began, turning the cup so the handle would face the boy. He kept a straight face, even when the hot porcelain burned his palm, “I made Yixing make this one without chocolate, since you may not be able to stomach something sweet.”

Tao nodded and sat up, taking the mug gratefully. He drank small sips as to not burn his tongue and set it down on the night stand. Kris took a seat next to him and brushed his bangs out of his eyes, feeling the temperature of his forehead in the process.

“You don’t feel warm,” he tsked, “Which is a shock considering how underdressed you were last night. I don’t know what’s wrong with you.”

“If my temperature is normal, then maybe you’re sick too,” Tao smiled half heartedly, “You went out with the same layers of clothes on as me.”

“That’s because I didn’t think it would start to snow.”

“Neither did I,” Tao scooted closer and leaned forward, bumping foreheads with the leader. He put his hands on the taller male’s shoulder to prevent him from moving away, even if he had no intention from doing so.

“What are you doing?” Kris asked with a slight smirk.

“Feeling your temperature.”

“You know that method is fake right?”

“I know, but you’re warm and my hands feel like ice,” Kris frowned and grabbed his arm, feeling goose bumps on the cold skin.

“Get back under the covers,” he detached himself from the maknae and gently pushed him down. He grabbed the comforter and attempted to pull it up, but was stopped.

“Only if you come under with me,” Tao pouted, grabbing his arm.

Kris blushed slightly and shook his head, freeing his limb from the boy’s clingy grip and walking towards the door. However, before he could get his hand on the knob, he heard some rustling and turned around. Tao had kicked the covers off and had rolled onto his side, hands crossed and glaring at the man.

“ZiTao,” the leader warned.

“Ge.”

“Stop being childish,” the maknae responded by kicking the blankets off the bed completely, “Seriously?”

“What can I say? I’m childish.”

Kris groaned. On top of Tao being clingy when he was sick, he was also very difficult. His original shy and obedient manner was replaced with an annoyed and temperamental attitude. Kris tried seeing the change from a logical prospective; the boy was sick, sick usually means pain, and people lash out at others when they’re in pain. However, Tao is… complicated.

“That’s enough, just go back to bed,” The leader tried again, “Didn’t you say you’re cold?”

“I am, and you’re warm.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“I don’t think it’s fair how you’re keeping all that body heat to yourself,” Kris stared back with a surprised expression. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again when he realized he had nothing to say. The maknae smirked at his speechless leader, Well played Zitao.

“That’s just silly,” Kris cursed himself mentally for not thinking of a better comeback.

“We’ve shared a bed lots of times and you’ve never had a problem before. Why now?”

“That was different.”

“How so?” Tao inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Kris let out a frustrated sigh and ran his fingers through his hair, “You had nightmares before. You’re not quite sick now, but you’re getting there. I’d be a distraction if I stayed with you.”

“Oh?” Tao’s smirk grew wider as he sat up, “and how would you ‘distract’ me Ge?”

 The leader gulped, “I tell you what, I’ll play a game with you. If I win, you sleep by yourself. If you win, I’ll sleep with you.”

“Thank god there aren’t any fan girls here,” Tao laughed, “If they heard you saying that, they may flip.”

“Quit thinking dirty,” Kris grabbed a nearby stuffed animal and threw it at him. Tao dodged it and stuck his tongue out, making room on the bed for Kris to sit back down once he picked up the fallen game.

“So what game do you have in mind?”

“Two truths one lie,” he held up three fingers, “It’s exactly how it sounds. One person tells the other two truthful things and one lie. The other person has to guess what’s the lie; if they fail, they lose.”

“This’ll be easy, I know everything about you.”

“Oh do you?”

Tao grinned, “Test me.”

Kris smirked, “Then I’m changing things up a bit, We’ll do facts about each member.”

“It won’t matter who we do facts about Ge, I will win.”

“We’ll see. Kyungsoo’s favorite number is one, likes fantasy movies, and was really good friends with Jongin during their trainee days.”

“The last one’s a lie. Baekhyun told me how they’d fight a lot before we debuted,” Tao smiled victoriously.

“Alright, you got one point. First to three wins.”

“Fine by me, my turn,” he readjusted his pillow, wincing slightly when he turned his head too quickly. Kris noticed it and concluded that the boy had a headache; I should finish this game quickly.

“Baekhyun likes a person full of charm, looks up to Lee Joon as a role model, and likes the colors white, black and grey.”

“The ‘Lee Joon’ one is wrong.”

“So we’re tied.”

“Yup,” Kris leaned back on his elbows and started thinking about who to use next, “… Xiumin says the person who made a lasting impression on him was Yixing, he needs his wallet wherever he goes, and he doesn’t like people touching his face.”

“That’s mean Ge. Xiumin told me that I impressed him the most.”

“Good job. Okay, this is taking too long,” he sighed and sat up straight, “This last game will decide the winner, if you get it right you win, got it?”

“Yup,” he nodded, his smile not reaching his eyes. Kris smirked; the boy was getting tired, meaning he wasn’t completely on his game.

“Alright.  The first Chinese person I met in Sment was Lay, I almost stepped on Monggyu the first time I Jongin introduced his pets, and…” Kris leaned forward, “I have a person I can’t get out of my mind.”

“You mean you like someone?” Kris nodded and Tao laughed, “That’s a lie. I win Ge.”

Tao started celebrating his victory by himself and didn’t notice Kris getting off the bed until a blanket landed on his head. He whined and looked up, confused to see the leader opening the door.

“Where are you going? I won!”

“I did step on Monggu. Well… Monggu’s tail. Jongin didn’t talk to me for three weeks after that,” He sighed, remembering how mad the Korean boy had been, “But at any rate, you lost. Now go to sleep, you’ll feel better when you wake up.”

“W-what? Wait a minute Ge, so the last one was true?”

Kris smiled, “Good night Zitao.”

He shut the door, leaving the maknae all alone in that dark room. Tao stared at where the leader once was and blinked a couple of times. His chest tightened and he clutched his shirt, “… Kris likes someone?”

God i just keep getting more and more of you XD that makes me happy, so i guess as to celebrate my 2 subs ill take three requests, only if you want them though (as in have ideas)

Kris would make a perfect Cloud.... js