"Huang ZiTao, I swear to god if you don't stop being a little I'm going to-"

"Oh you're just bitter because I'm winning."

"You're not winning! You're cheating!"

"How?!"

"By doing that... That thing!"

Tao laughed, his eyes never leaving the screen as he furiously pressed buttons with his long fingers gliding over the controller to keep up with the combos.

It was a quiet evening in the dorm room; the boys had just come home from a fan meet and one of their Exotics had given them a new video game as a gift. Tao was excited to play and immediately challenged the leader for a game of one on one. Kris's warrior was winning at first, but Tao's mage made a comeback that was stronger than he had anticipated. 

Now he was sorely losing, which wouldn't have been bad if it wasn't for the fact that they had made a bet beforehand; loser had to do whatever the winner wanted for a day; for the sake of his wallet, Kris could not lose. The leader cursed under his breath as the mage delivered an almost deadly blow on him, again. 

"ZiTao!" his growl vibrated through the room and the maknae's laughter followed.

"Wow Kris, you at video games."

"Luhan, I can't tell if your mouth is talking or your  but I suggest you shut it before I shove a rod up both ends."

The baby faced male was stunned with his brutal words and turned to look at Jongdae, whose face was turning red with laughter.

"Touchy touchy," Tao hummed, dodging another attack, "You play like Jonghyun-ge's sister, and she's never touched a controller in her life."

Kris knew what he was trying to do. He wanted to distract him, to piss him off so he’d lose focus and lose the game, well two can play at that game…

"Least I don't sound like a prepubescent teen," he clicked his tongue, noting how Tao visibly stiffened.

"That’s funny to hear, coming from a guy who wears more makeup than all of Girl’s Generation combined." 

"I've got to cover my iness, too much will leave us with lawsuits over exploding ovaries. But you wouldn’t know, seeing as your looks are more ‘killer’."

"Oh Ge, I can barely contain my joy, you’ve acknowledged my good looks."

"The same way children can barely contain their fear when they acknowledge your presence? That's relatable."

"You guys are idiots, just thought I'd point that out... again."

“Shut up Luhan. He’s trying to distract me.”

"On the contrary, I didn’t have to try," Tao laughed, maneuvering a triple powered combo that had Kris's character close to death. The leader's eyes widened and he tightened his grip on the controller.

"Tao, no. Don't you dare- don’t you even think about doing what I think you're doing."

"Oh? You mean... This?" with a final press of a button, the martial artist's mage charged a spell and shot it at the warrior. Kris found it hard to breathe as he watched his downfall, literally. 

As the words 'K.O.' blinked across the screen, Kris stood up and threw his controller somewhere across the room, he assumed somewhere near Minseok because the singer let out a yelp when it made impact. He groaned loud enough for his voice to echo in the dorm and pulled at his freshly died black hair. Tao found it endearing because with the length the leader had it at, it was impossible to grab a solid chunk of anything on his head so he had to resort to burying his face in his hands.

“You deserve that," Luhan mumbled with a smirk, hearing the distressed male switch between English, Mandarin, and Korean as he cursed the existence of this game and Tao's 'beginner's luck'.

Yixing entered the room just as he was insulting his mother and frowned, "What’s got the dragon spewing fire?"

"He was cheated by a hobbit."

"Another Hobbit joke Jongdae and I'll make you short like one!"

The singer snorted but remained silent. Kris turned his attention to Tao, who was leaning back against the couch and watching him with a smile, "Don't be mad duizhang, I won fair and square."

He scowled, "I can still kick your in basket ball."

"I can kick your right in general."

"Yeah, he can wushu it up until-"

"Luhan!"

“Alright! I’ll go!”

Kris waited until the elder was gone before he sighed dejectedly, “So you won…”

“I did.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

Tao hummed and scratched his chin thoughtfully, “… Today’s almost over, and knowing you, you’re going to try and wiggle yourself out of this deal.”

He scoffed, “Me? Never.”

“Ah huh. This deal is in effect as of tomorrow morning, so don’t sleep in,” Tao smiled and stood up, patting the leader’s back as he passed him, “G’night Ge.”

Kris watched him go with a look of disbelief on his face. When the maknae was gone, he turned to Yixing, who was smiling mischievously, “That boy has you wrapped around his finger Yifan.”

“He does not. It was just a bet.”

“Ah huh… And what about all those other times you’ve done ‘stuff’ for him? Was that also because of a bet?”

Kris flipped them the bird as he retreated back to his room, ignoring Jongdae’s cackling as best he could.

--

“Chocolate.”

“No.”

“Duizhang, I’m really craving chocolate.”

“I don’t care. Besides you’re on a diet, you said so yourself last week.”

Tao scowled and sunk further into his seat, “The airplane doesn’t leave for another 10 minutes. Get. Me. Chocolate.”

“No-”

“I won our bet last night, you have no right to defy me. Now I carry a hunger that can only be sated by chocolate.”

Kris rolled his eyes. They had to wake up early that morning and he really didn’t want to get up and move. However, with the look Tao was giving him, he probably would have done so anyway without the stupid bet. Kris heard Jongdae mumble “whipped” as he got up and kicked his feet when he passed him.

“Hyun Kyun hyung,” he addressed his manager politely because pissing him off is the last thing he wants to do right now, “Can I go to that small store over there?”

“Kris, you know how limited we are on security. If I let you go, you’ll get eaten alive! What do you even need over there anyways?”

He hesitated, “Chocolate.”

“… I thought you were on a diet.”

“It’s not for me. It’s for... Yixing. It’s to help him wake up so he doesn’t space out and almost miss the flight like last time.”

Hyun Kyun looked unconvinced, but a look over Kris shoulder proved otherwise as he saw the dancer staring blankly at a blinking vending machine. He nodded slowly, “… it’s not really for Yixing is it? Jongdae usually watches out for him anyways. You’re doing this for Tao huh?”

“… Does it make any difference?”

“Man, that kid’s tamed you-”

“Stop right there,” Kris frowned, “Wu Yi fan cannot be tamed.”

A group of girls who had overheard him started to scream hysterically. The leader had forgotten where they were and groaned inwardly, that would make for some ‘fine’ fan fiction material.

“That’s gonna spread like wild fire,” the manager laughed again.

“Tell me about it... Alright, instead of chocolate, can I get some watermelon?”

“Why?”

“Mostly to spite him, but watermelon is better for Tao and he actually likes the fruit so he won’t be breaking his diet.”

Hyun Kyun smiled and nodded, “Alright, Wait here and I’ll get it myself.”

“Hyung, you don’t have to-”

“Wait. Here.”

Kris nodded and watched him disappear in the mob of flashes and screams. He glanced over his shoulder at Tao, who was playing with his phone absentmindedly. His eyes scanned over the boy’s hair, now dyed red, and he thought back to how he first disapproved of it when the stylist told them what their new look was going to be.

He liked Tao’s black hair, it contrasted greatly against his skin and made him look as white as snow; as cliché as that sounds, but ever since their little ‘escape’ in Beijing on one chilly evening, Kris had begun to associated Tao with his favorite season: Winter. He’d miss the black, but he was starting to get use to the red. It gave his once eerie skin tone a healthier color. Kris also found it captivating when he practiced his wushu; he’d look like a flame fighting the wind, refusing to go out as he jumped and kicked and spun around.

The leader was pulled from his thoughts when Hyun Kyun returned with a plastic tub of the pink fruit and a bunch of note cards in his hand, “This is for you, and these are for Luhan.”

“What are they?”

“Fan’s questions, they managed to slip some in my pocket while I was walking. He might as well answer them. It’s nothing inappropriate, mostly fan service stuff.”

He nodded and took the items, bowing slightly as thanks before retreating to the other members. He dropped the papers in Luhan’s lap, ignoring the questioning look he shot him before returning to his seat beside the maknae and holding out the fruit.

“I wanted chocolate.”

“And I got you watermelon. You’ll thank me later.”

Tao nodded and took the food anyways. He was actually kind of happy that Kris remembered his favorite fruit and took a bite from the juicy treat. He turned to thank the elder, but frowned when he saw his attention was on Minseok, who was asking him a question about one of the Chinese fan signs.

Feeling a little jealous, he poked the elder’s side repeatedly until he got a response.

“What?” Kris asked, staring at him expectantly.

“Feed me?”

He stared blankly, “… No.”

“But my wrist still hurts from when I twisted it at practice!”

“I told you to ice it. You said it wasn’t a big deal.”

“Duizhaaang, you have too,” he whined rather cutely. It was unintentional of course, Tao just wanted to be fed but his aegyo came out on a force of habit and Kris gave in. He proceeded to answer Minseok’s questions about the fan signs while feeding Tao bits of watermelon, being sure to wipe his chin when a bit of the juice fell.

“God I don’t even know what to do with you two,” Jongdae sighed. Tao, Kris, and Minseok turned to look at him.

“Who? Me and Kris?” Tao frowned.

“No, Minseok and that plant over there. They’ve been giving each other the eye the entire time we’ve been here and I just want him to go up kiss that stupid fern- of course you and Kris!”

“A little excessive on your sarcasm,” Luhan snickered, getting hit on the knee in response.

“Whatever, this bet you made was stupid because Kris is doing everything he would normally do even if you didn’t win! God, next time make him cross dress or something, what a waste.”

“If you’re so put off by our deal, why not make your own with one of the other members?” The leader frowned, some juice off his finger. Yixing pulled out his phone angled it at Kris, “What are you doing?”

“Getting ready for the next time you do something y. I’ll use it as a selling point when I need Baekhyun to do something. God only knows how big of a ‘Kris’ fan boy he is.”

Tao felt slightly irritated at the statement and not so secretly hooked arms with the elder, “He’s just like that because ge is tall. He has Chanyeol-ge anyways.”

“Seriously, plus that boy worships SNSD more,” Jongdae snickered.

“Alright kiddos,” Hyun Kyun grabbed Minseok’s arm lightly and tugged him out of his seat, “Time to board the plane.”

As the members got up and gathered their things, Tao tugged on the end of Kris’s shirt sleeve. The elder looked at him, “What?”

“Sit with me?”

--

“Welcome back,” Suho smiled, helping the EXOM members, along with Chanyeol and Jongin, with their luggage inside the dorm. Kris greeted the fellow leader back while Luhan ran past him and tackled Sehun into a hug. Minseok and Jongdae went straight to the kitchen to hassle Kyungsoo for some food and Yixing went straight to his room to sleep.

Kris wasn’t surprised to see the maknae drift over to Baekhyun to share some candy he bought in Beijing; then again Tao always had a soft spot for that puppy-like hyung of his. Seeing him happy made the leader smile and he turned his attention back a black haired giant eager for his attention.

“So this game I got has three different difficulties you can unlock after you defeat the default one, and each level has different boss elements that give you kick armor you can use in the story line! I hear it also affects the ending you get, whether it’s good or bad- are you listening?”

“Yeah, good or bad endings. I got it,” he chuckled, punching Chanyeol’s arm lightly, “Why don’t we go play?”

The boy grinned, “You’re in luck, it’s multiplayer.”

“Cool-”

“But I get to be the girl.”

“… That’s nice Chanyeol.”

--

“I can see why you wanted to be the girl,” Kris huffed, throwing the controller down after about a half hour of playing. Chanyeol laughed loudly as his avatar kicked another monster’s , leaving little to no enemies for Kris to defeat.

“I thought you were good at video games,” Jongin hummed from the other end of the couch, scanning a new High Cut magazine lazily.

“Nah, Kris is losing his skills. He got his handed to him by Tao just the other day and now he has to listen to every one of his demands,” Jongdae snickered. Kris threw a pillow at him and leaned back in the sofa, staring down the hall and waiting expectantly for the Chinese maknae to emerge. Normally Tao came at the slightest mention of his name, his hearing was that good.

“If you’re waiting for Tao, he’s not here,” Baekhyun commented, “He went out twenty minutes ago to mail a letter to his parents. Apparently they’re moving to a new house so he has no ‘electronic’ way of contacting them”

“I know that, why didn’t he tell me he was leaving?”

Kyungsoo looked up from his cell phone shocked, “He tried getting your attention, like, fifteen times! You were too wrapped up in your videogame to hear him so he just left.”

Kris groaned, . Tao still isn’t that familiar with the streets of Seoul, “I’m going to go look for him.”

“Why?”

“Because,” he began, standing up and sliding his coat on, “The nearest mail box is literally right around the corner. It doesn’t take twenty minutes to walk down stairs and back.”

“Oh… .”

“Yup,” he grabbed his phone and opened the door, throwing a ‘good bye’ over his shoulder as it closed behind him.

The elder man shuddered when the evening breeze blew across his skin. Spring had arrived, but the icy air winter left was still thawing out over the busy city, forcing it’s residences to dress warmly or risk catching ‘spring fever’. It didn’t help that April was the time for rain, or the fact that a dark cloud had rolled past the mountains and was looming over head.

“Lovely,” he muttered bitterly as he exited the dorm building and looked down the road. There were a few fans he recognized here and there, but all seemed too preoccupied with something to noticed he had left. Kris pulled his beanie further over his head and disappeared into a passing crowd.

It wasn’t until he was a block away that he remembered Tao never goes anywhere without his phone. He pulled his out and clicked Tao’s contact I.D, then waited for the call to connect.

“… Ge?”

“Huang Zitao, you better not have gotten yourself kidnapped.”

The boy on the other end scoffed, “Oh so now you care?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Seemed like video games mattered more than I did earlier.”

“Whatever, where are you?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“So I can come get you! Honestly Tao, why do you think? It doesn’t take someone this long to mail a letter.”

“Maybe it takes me this long. What are you implying?”

“That you’re lost.”

“…”

“Do you see any street signs? Something that can give me an indication of where you are?”

“…I’m outside a noribang.”

Kris sighed, “Tao, there are probably 50 different kinds of noribangs in just one alley way of Seoul. Anything more specific?”

“This one has a panda advertising outside.”

“A panda…”

“A singing, dancing panda… Wearing a red hat and a blue shirt with a music note on it.”

“… Alright. That’s a start. Is there a sign though?”

“No, but I turned left when I exited the building and kept taking every left turn I came across.”

“Why left?”

“Does it really matter?”

“I suppose not,” Kris noticed a turn coming up and followed Tao’s instructions, “How many turns did you take?”

“Dunno, wasn’t paying attention.”

“Tao…”

“I’m sorry! I was mad!”

“Because I ignored you?”

“You ignored the deal too! I thought you were a man of your word. I’m very disappointed in you.”

“I didn’t hear you! You should be louder next time.”

“Next time I’ll get my wushu stuck and beat you over the head with it.”

“Violence is never the answer,” Kris was getting tired of walking. He momentarily wondered how far Tao had gone until he saw a dancing mass of black and white up ahead. He smirked when he realized it was a mascot suit and scanned the nearby buildings for any sign of the maknae.

His prayers were answered when he spotted a familiar black hat poorly hiding freshly died red hair. Tao’s back was facing the leader, but he still knew it was him.

“It’s a good last resort though,” Tao turned his head, revealing a smirk that went along with his words.

“Well if you get cocky like that,” he began, grinning as the maknae jumped and turned around to meet him, “I’ll just leave you here.”

Tao was speechless. Kris hung up the phone and smiled again as he turned around and started to walk off. He waited for Tao to stop him, taking slow steps to make it easier.

“Y-Yah! Gege!” he froze and cocked his head back.

“Yes?”

“The day isn’t over!”

“I know.”

“S-so, the deal is still in effect, and you owe me double for ignoring my order earlier!” Tao huffed, pouting like a child.

“I suppose so…” Kris had a feeling of where this conversation was taking them. He had no doubt that Kris would probably ask for some sort of treat or plushie or, worst case scenario, Gucci.

“Then I order you to take me home!”

“Tao it’s too late for ice cream, we have some at the- wait…” Kris frowned and walked back towards him, “What did you say?”

“I-I said take me home,” Tao sniffed, avoiding eye contact, “Don’t leave me behind. I just want to go back, so… Take me home?”

His order came out more like plea and with the kicked puppy expression he was pulling, there was no way he could say no to a face like his. Kris stepped closer and wrapped an arm around his shoulder as he guided him back in the direction of their dorm.

“I wasn’t seriously going to leave you here. You’re our kung fu panda; everyone would hate me if I did.”

“You can be really cruel, you know?”

He tightened his grip, “Sorry. I’ll pay more attention next time.”

“You’ve said that, but saying it isn’t necessarily going to make me feel better.”

“You’re right… here,” he stopped and lifted up his hand, sticking his pinky out, “How about a promise?”

“What are we, five?”

“Who’s the one getting teary-eyed over a bet?”

Tao frowned and roughly gripped his pinky with his own, “There. Now let’s go.”

Kris smirked and nodded, beginning to walk away with their pinkies still together. Tao weakly tried to pull free, but liked the comfort that came with the connection and left it alone. He found himself smiling as they walked back; people probably thought he looked weird, but since Kris was doing the same thing he figured it was alright.

I'm watching the Ju-on as i type this. Shows a lot about what i do in my spare time. What? It doesn't? Well then.

Toshio~ he's so precious XD