"Of all days to be sick, you had to pick our day off," Kris grumbled under his breath, glaring at the rice cooker he had recently plugged into the wall. Yixing rolled his eyes and reached a long leg out to lightly kick the leader's .

“My apologies. Next time I decide to get locked out of the dorm for two hours in the ing snow I'll be sure to do it on a scheduled day," he wheezed back with a series of coughs following afterwards.

Kris sighed and poured him a glass of water, "Take it easy."

"Then stop complaining. You're cooking breakfast Yifan, not massaging my feet or cleaning my barf."

"You've been throwing up?"

"No, but if I do I'm saving it for Jongdae, that little prick is the one who kept asking for a ing password when I was banging on the door. If it hadn't been for Luhan I'd be an icicle.”

Kris frowned and nodded. He hadn't actually heard the commotion last night, but Yixing had been oh so generous to retell it to him. Yixing was hungry for chocolate at around 11:00 at night. The managers had all of EXO on a strict diet so there was no chocolate to be found in the dorm. Being the obsequious boy he is, Yixing decided to go to the closest open convenience store and get some... In a snow storm. 

Yixing didn’t get back to the dorm until an hour later, when everyone was asleep. Jongdae was the only one to wake up when he started pounding on the door. He was pissed that the dancer woke him up for what he deemed a 'stupid reason' and decided to play a guessing game. Yixing’s yelling and the vocal’s laughter got so loud that Luhan was forced to intervene. Kris had asked what he did, but Yixing merely replied with a smirk and said "there's a reason why he hasn't come out of his room this morning."

"G'morning," the sleepy steam bun of the group yawned, plopping down in a chair besides Yixing and cracking an eye open, "... Are you making breakfast Kris?"

"No, I'm staring at a rice cooker because it just looks so damn y."

"Quit eyeing that thing and make some eggs," Yixing sniffed.

"Oh my god Lay! You sound horrible!"

"I think he sounds peachy."

"Shove it Yifan. I caught a cold last night, nothing to be worried about."

"Xiumin, could you go find some medicine in the bathroom? If there isn't anything there then check the pantry in the hallway."

"Neh, duizhang," he nodded and turned away, leaving the two boys alone once more. Kris pulled a bowl from the cabinet and grabbed a few eggs from the fridge. He had just finished cracking them and began stirring when Tao made his entrance.

The martial artist had walked straight into the wall; the dull thud echoed in the kitchen and made the two members jump.

"Tao... Are you okay?" Yixing asked, holding back a laugh until he was sure the maknae had no brain damage.

"Aaahhhh...." he groaned rubbing the hurt spot and stumbling into the kitchen. His eyes were hooded and covered by his black bangs, but Kris could see how the dark irises searched for him until their gazes locked. 

Tao lazily walked forward, mumbling "duizhang" under his breath. Kris knew what was coming next and lifted his arms up just as he reached to hug him, bowl and beater still in hand.

Tao buried his head in the crook of the cook's neck and hugged his waist tightly, sighing contently and relaxing when he was comfortable. The leader slowly brought his arms down, careful not to nudge the boy with the objects he was holding, and continued his earlier task of beating the eggs.

Yixing watched them with a sly smile on his face, "What's this Duizhang?"

"This, right here, is a bowl of beaten eggs and this is a tired maknae who probably has a raging headache," Tao made a noise of agreement, but didn't bother with a proper reply.

Xiumin came back with a box a little later, taken aback when he saw the two rappers, "Well that's... actually pretty cute. You should do more fan service like that on stage."

"What I do in the dorm and what I do on stage are two completely different things," he scoffed, "I don't mix business with pleasure. Now do me a favor and scramble these eggs."

Xiumin shrugged and took the bowl while Yixing snorted, "'Pleasure', Yifan?"

"Smirk one more time and I may just poison your food."

“You’re not cooking.”

“I could.”

“Too loud,” Tao whined, tightening his grip and making Kris cough.

“Easy maknae,” Luhan warned, walking in in time to see it happen, “Any tighter and you’ll be squeezing a corpse.”

Tao’s grip loosened significantly and Kris breathed a sigh of relief. He patted his back gently and looked back to the elder man, “Morning, sleep well?”

The baby faced male shot him a glare, “’Morning’? Oh thank you for telling me that, I assumed it was evening given that I would still be sleeping if it really was but it couldn’t be since no one would ever allow me the courtesy to sleep in regardless if it was our day off or not. Oh no, with the constant coughing and stomping around the halls it’s IMPOSSIBLE to sleep here! Who ever thought wood flooring was a good idea needs to get shot in the-!”

“Lulu… Calm down,” Xiumin spoke calmly, pausing his work on breakfast. The said male rolled his eyes and grabbed a mug of coffee Kris had poured earlier, drinking it black instead of adding his usual sweeteners.

His face scrunched up and he gave a disapproving grunt, “What is this!?”

“Coffee.”

“Oh god, this is awful.”

“Yeah…” Lay shrugged, “But you’re awake now aren’t you?”

Luhan sent him a dirty look and turned towards the living room, “Let me know when we can start eating.”

“Breakfast is almost ready!” Xiumin yelled over his shoulder. Kris sighed and leaned back against the marble counter, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the martial artist’s back while humming ‘What is Love’.

 Yixing was still smirking at him, but the leader chose to ignore it and focused on a specific crack in the wall. How did that happen? Was it when Jondgae threw an apple? , it looks pretty noticeable; maybe I can find some fan art to cover it before Hyun Kyun notices. I’ll have Yixing filter through the mail as punishment for being an - wait… is that another crack? Jesus how many splits does this cheap plaster have?

“Duizhang,” Xiumin nudged his side gently with the end of his spatula. Kris stopped his cadence tapping and ceased the song. He cocked his head to the side and waited for the boy to continue, “How shall I season this?”

“Bit of salt and pepper… some soy sauce maybe?”

“Soy sauce?” The sick dancer grimaced.

“Got any other ideas?”

He rolled his eyes and unwillingly got up, dragging himself to the pantry and fumbling around the shelves, “I have my own blend of seasoning for such meals.”

Kris ignored him again and noticed a shorter vocalist enter the kitchen. The boy frowned when he saw the two and tilted his head to the side, “How does Tao sleep like that?”

The leader glared at Jongdae, “He’s not sleeping.”

“He’s clearly sleeping.”

“No, that’s impossible.”

“Everyone be quiet for a minute,” Xiumin and Yixing stopped their earlier discussion of spices and looked towards the maknae. It was silent for a long while, but eventually Kris could hear the light snores of the maknae and groaned inwardly.

“You have got to be kidding me…”

“Taaaooo~ Kung fu Pandaaa~” no response, “Taozii~, little peach boy~ Wake up!”

Still nothing.

Kris glared again, “Satisfied?”

The vocalist grinned and rested his hands on his lips, letting out a low whistle, “That’s actually pretty impressive.”

“Of course you wou-” the dancer was cut off when he choked on something in his throat, filling the room with a sickening hack sound.

Jongdae’s smile fell when he saw where the ill male was coughing, “Ew! I don’t want to eat that!”

“I didn’t cough on the food you dumb !”

“Dude, millions of diseased particles just flew out of your infectious trap and guess where they’re going to land? In the eggs! If you don’t want me to starve then I suggest you make something else.”

“Oh so, what, I’m as deadly as the plague? You going to shun me like you did last night?”

“Well if you put it that way… yes.”

“You ungrateful little brat-!”

“Hey!” Kris snapped, his low voice sending chills down their spine, “Don’t try to wake him up now,” he motioned to the boy in his hold and slowly turned his body. Tao’s arms fell from Kris’s back and hung loosely by his side, however his legs were slipping on the hard wood floor and Kris had to hook his arm at the bend of his knee’s to make sure he didn’t fall over completely.

He let out the breath he didn’t notice he was holding when he saw the boy was still sleeping and straightened his back, carrying the maknae bridal style. Yixing looked like he was going to clap and give a sarcastic comment, but one look from Kris had him rethinking the thought.

“After I put Tao to bed, we’ll get started on pancakes,” he spoke softly, getting excited looks from the other members and a shout of approval from the living room. Kris rolled his eyes, smirking slightly at how childish his band mates were being before leaving the room.

The door was difficult to open, but the leader managed to twist the knob with his feet, a talent he had spent many bored hours improving on during his childhood. Kris was careful to avoid the mess of clothes and bags scattered around the ground, but that didn’t stop his left leg from getting hooked in one of Tao’s Gucci bags.

Kris cursed under his breath and kicked the dreaded thing off, setting the younger down on the bed gently in hopes of keeping him asleep (That, however, wasn’t a big concern since the boy was second worst in hardest to wake up… Kris being first).

He exhaled and sat at the edge of the bed, staring down at the maknae curiously. The boy’s dark circles weren’t any different from how they normally were; he wondered why Tao would be so tired this time. His eyes trailed off to the laptop across the room and he smirked.

The kid was up reading fan fiction again. Kris chuckled and ruffled his hair, a habit he had picked up over their trainee days, “It better have been a good story to drain you this much.”

Tao’s brows furrowed together and he shifted to his side, letting out a sigh before falling still. Kris noticed the creases on his forehead and felt the urge to smooth them away. His finger’s hovered above the boy’s head before he stopped himself.

No Yifan, Kris scolded himself, pulling back hesitantly, don’t do this to yourself. You’re making things harder than it needs to be.

The leader bit the inside of his cheek, controlling the urge to touch the maknae and watched him once more. He felt satisfied seeing the peaceful state of his sleep. His face was calm and blissful once again and his chest rose and fell with every breath.

Kris smiled and stood up, feeling a tingling sensation from where he touched the boy’s head and closed the bedroom door behind him. He leaned against the wood and ran his fingers through his hair.

“This is getting harder to deal with…”

--

Tao wobbled out of his room and hour or so later, confused and a little baffled as to how he ended up in his room. The boy kicked a shirt that had somehow attached itself to his leg and walked down the hallway. He yawned rather loudly before calling the members in his native tongue. There was no response.

The grogginess of sleep quickly dissipated as worry crossed the martial artist’s sharp features. He walked a little faster and called their names in a more alarmed manner. The boy then circled the dorm, starting from the rooms, then to the living room, bathroom, and ending in the kitchen.

He frowned when he saw a foil covered plate sitting in the middle of the table. Tao noticed a vibrant yellow sticky note stand out on the reflective surface and approached it cautiously. He tore the sticky note off and squinted to read the nearly illegible hand writing.

You fell asleep so you missed breakfast.
Saved you a few pancakes though, you may need to warm them up.
We’ll be back at 12, just went out for more groceries and cold medicine for Yixing.
-W

Tao smiled slightly and set the paper down. He appreciated the note, now he wouldn’t need to waste pointless minutes calling the manager and having a huge freak out about being abandoned. If there was one thing Tao hated the most, besides ghosts, it was being 'suddenly' left behind.

His fingers curled under the wrapping and he peeled the foil off. His eyes widened at the sight of three panda head-shaped pancakes. It’s face was outlines with chocolate chips to distinguish the eyes, nose, and mouth. There was another note on top of the stack, slightly damp with the steam from the pancakes and the enclosed area.

Don’t make fun of Kris; he tried really hard ha ha~
-Xiumin

Tao laughed to himself and looked down at the food. The leader would never admit it, but Tao thought he could be really endearing now and then.

God i'm tired, and this oneshot is hella delayed. Honestly i have like... 3 different taoris ideas running around inside my head and i've already started typing two of them but i just don't have the time! Credit for this chapter's plot goes to Kpopism. Thanks doll~ PS: here's the deal with Kris's name. Originally i heard it was Wu fan, but other places are saying it's Wu Yi Fan, so from hence forth i'll go with that. ing Kevin Li, being confusing as . 

Edit: two of you guys have been so kind as to explain it to me. I'm no longer confused lol but still, i'm using Wu Yi Fan.

god i love this movie so much i love martin and benedict (even if he was in it for like... 5 seconds) and the dwarves and djkshfncdfkjc