A/N: Thank you to everyone that's still reading this! I'm sorry I'm such a horrible updater, but I'm truly thankful that you're still reading. Special thanks to the upvoters, subscribers, and commenters! You make my day and give me fuel to go on :D

Warning: Swearing.

Continues from last chapter.

O.o o.O

“Hey, Peaches.”

Tao jumped in surprise, hands tightening around the straps of his backpack as he whirled around. “Oh. Hi, Minseok-hyung.”

“Headed back to the dorm?” Minseok asked, falling into step with him. “You just finished your last class, right?”

“Yeah,” Tao said.

“Come have a cup of coffee with me. Hyung will treat you.”

Tao eyed him somewhat suspiciously. “Can I have cake too?”

Minseok shrugged. “As much cake as you like.”

“Okay!”

They stopped at the first cafe they passed, and Minseok sipped his americano slowly as he watched Tao slowly demolish a huge slice of chocolate cake. “How was class today?”

Tao wrinkled his nose. “I don’t like Mondays,” he said simply.

Minseok laughed. “No one does, Peaches.”

“How about you, Minseok-hyung? You didn’t have class today, right?”

“Yeah, I went to the gym. How’s your back?”

“It’s a lot better, hyung! I’m gonna rest it for a few more days though.”

“That’s a good idea,” Minseok said, leaning his elbows on the table. “Kris helped you a lot when you injured yourself, didn’t he?”

Tao stilled. “He did.”

“Kris cares a lot about you, you know.”

Tao lowered his head, unable to meet Minseok’s eyes. “I know.”

“He’s dumb, but he means well.”

“I know.”

There was a pause as Minseok reached across, grasping tight onto Tao’s hand and locking gazes. “Don’t you think you’ve punished him enough?” Minseok asked gently.

“Punish...?”

“You’ve ignored Kris all weekend. I know what happened on Saturday, but I also know he apologised that night.”

Tao shook his head. “I never meant to do that, hyung! Please believe me.”

“Okay,” Minseok said slowly. “But don’t you think what you’re doing now is hurting Kris’ feelings?”

“I...didn’t think about it that way.”

Minseok gentled his voice on purpose, not wanting to sound accusing. “Then what were you thinking?”

It took a few chews of his lower lip before Tao found the courage to answer. “I...I don’t want to be hated, hyung.”

Minseok blinked in surprise. “Hated? By whom?”

“By Kris-ge.”

“Why would you think that?”

Tao took a deep breath. “I - I know I’ve been relying on him a lot since I moved in. It isn’t just when I’m sad or homesick; he checks on me to make sure I’m eating properly and that I’m doing well in my classes, and when it’s my turn to take out the garbage he always comes with me because he knows I’m afraid of being in the back staircase by myself. I just - I’ve been thinking a lot about what he said to me, and he’s right. I can’t keep relying on him like this.” He ducked his head further, trying to hide from Minseok’s unyielding stare. “I’m not a child,” he said quietly. “And he shouldn’t have to care for me like I am.”

Minseok waited until he was sure Tao was finished before answering. “Peaches, we take care of you because we want to, not because we feel we have to. I have no doubt that Kris feels the same way.”

Tao shook his head, somehow still disbelieving. “I don’t want to impose on him anymore.”

“It’s not imposing if he’s offering,” Minseok said, quirking an eyebrow at him. “You’ve never really had to ask him, have you?”

“No,” Tao answered slowly. “I haven’t.”

Suddenly, remembering the way he had brushed off Kris so thoughtlessly all weekend flooded through him, and Tao felt vaguely ill at having acted so spitefully. He looked at Minseok with a trembling chin, eyes bright with worry.

“Hyung, what should I do?”

Minseok gave him a small, lopsided grin. “Just go talk to him, Peaches. It’ll be fine, trust me.”

“Okay,” Tao said, still guilt-stricken and mind whirling with different ways to phrase his apology.

“More cake?” Minseok looked at him expectantly, but Tao shook his head, appetite having abandoned him. How could he possibly still think of food when he had so much to apologise for?

“Can we go home?” he asked in a tiny voice.

“Of course. You feeling okay?”

Tao felt vaguely nauseous, but he nodded anyway. He’d feel better after apologising to Kris.

O.o o.O

The second he and Minseok arrived at their dorm, Tao went straight to Kris’ bedroom, knocking on the door before he lost his nerve.

“Come in.”

Kris was sitting at his desk when Tao entered, closing the door gently behind him. “Ge,” he greeted.

“Oh, Tao.” Kris turned away from his desk, blinking up at him through his reading glasses. “What’s up?”

Tao’s lower lip trembled. “Ge,” he said again, hands into the hem of his t-shirt; he didn’t know how to begin.

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry!”

“O...kay,” Kris said slowly.

“I want to apologise for my behaviour the last few days. I was being selfish and inconsiderate of your feelings,” Tao continued, head down and unable to look at Kris. “Please forgive me.”

Kris stood from his seat, stepping close to Tao, close enough to touch him gently on the shoulder. “Hey. Hey, don’t worry about it, okay?”

Tao squeezed his eyes shut as Kris wrapped him into a hug. “I’m sorry,” he squeaked again.

“I’m sorry too,” Kris said, a hand down the length of Tao’s spine as he sniffled into Kris’ collarbone. “So now we’re both sorry and I accept your apology. Do you forgive me?”

“Yes,” Tao murmured, drawing back and wiping his nose with the hem of his t-shirt, completely missing the flash of dark eyes on his bare torso.

“Come on, kid,” Kris ruffled Tao’s hair on the top of his head, “I’ll make you some hot chocolate, how’s that?”

Tao brightened visibly, straightening where he had been slouching before, clasping his hands in front of his chest as his eyes sparkled. “Really? Yes, please!”

Kris chuckled to himself as he led the way out of his room, mindful of Yixing’s eyes watching from the corner of the living room sofa.

O.o o.O

“So.” Yixing leaned on the doorjamb of Kris’ bedroom. “That’s some kind of hero worship, isn’t it?”

“What are you talking about now,” Kris sighed, looking up from his textbook.

“Isn’t that what you told Suho?” Yixing asked, entering and closing the door behind him. He pitched his voice in a squeaky imitation of Kris. “It’s just hero worship!”

“That’s because it is,” Kris said sternly. “And don’t you even think about getting him involved in those stupid plans of yours.”

“What plans?” Yixing shrugged, palms spread out. “I make no plans.”

Kris rolled his eyes. “Talk about bull,” he muttered, before raising his voice. “Look, Yixing, I know you think Tao’s reactions are cute, but you gotta stop putting him in situations that upset him.”

“I haven’t done anything,” Yixing said indignantly. “If you hadn’t been a little and gotten spooked at the mention of Tao’s crush on you, you’d still be his number one big brother to rely on. And anyway,” he smirked, “since it’s just hero worship, I guess you wouldn’t mind seceding that position to someone else.”

“Who, you?” Kris snorted, folding his arms across his chest.

Yixing shrugged again. “You know Luhan is one of the TAs for Tao’s poli-sci lecture?”

“What about it?” Kris said crossly.

Yixing raised an eyebrow, turning to leave with one hand on the doorknob. “I guess you wouldn’t care that the TAs have all been trying to get Tao on a date with them.”

“WHAT?” Kris jumped up, crowding into Yixing’s space to loom over him. “Is Luhan a part of this?”

Yixing wrinkled his nose, shoving Kris back with one hand. “Of course not. I’m just letting you know, Yifan. Keep him by your side if you want, but you can’t keep him from other people.”

Kris didn’t reply, and Yixing took the opportunity to arch an eyebrow at him in a silent question before slipping out the door, closing it so quietly it was as if he never had been there at all.

O.o o.O

Kris was even moodier than usual when the two suites went to the canteen for fried chicken dinner that evening. Tao couldn’t help but notice, especially when Luhan chucked a bone at Kris and the only response he got was a grunt.

“Ge,” he whispered, leaning against Kris’ side. “Are you feeling okay?”

Kris looked down at him, eyebrows pulled together fiercely. “Sure,” he said, a beat too late.

Tao didn’t realise how alluring the natural pout to his curving lips was, blinking wide eyes up at Kris. “You don’t really look okay.” He leaned even closer, his cheek almost pillowed by Kris’ shoulder.

“Really, I’m fine.” Kris patted Tao’s knee absently, poking at a piece of fried chicken with his chopsticks before stabbing into it and holding it up for a bite.

Tao sat back in his seat, vaguely surprised that Kris’ hand remained where it was as he continued to eat nonchalantly. There was just the faintest, delicious of fingertips against the inseam of his inner thigh, and then Kris’ hand retreated, leaving Tao with a cold brand where it had been.

“You’re done already?”

Tao jerked his head up, looking over where Kris was chewing on a drumstick and eyeing him curiously. “Oh, no, I...” He poked his chopsticks into his basket, only to realise he had indeed finished his share already. “I, um.” A hot blush bloomed on his cheeks as he set his chopsticks down. “I guess I’m done.”

“Here,” Kris said, picking out his second drumstick and dropping it into Tao’s basket.

“Ge, it’s okay,” Tao protested. “I’m not hungry anymore.”

“Just eat it.” Kris’ words were curt, but his tone was gentle, and Tao had to bite his lip to keep from smiling too widely.

“Yes, ge,” he said obediently.

“I’ll take you out for patbingsu afterwards,” Kris said, mumbling his words into his chicken.

“Really?”

A nod.

“Thank you, ge!” Tao chomped down happily on the drumstick, unaware of Yixing waggling his eyebrows at a glaring Kris.

O.o o.O

“Shh! Keep your ing voice down!” someone whispered harshly.

“You shut up,” came a sulky mutter.

“Bring his panda too,” a third person whispered.

“They’re already a two-in-one package,” said a fourth under his breath.

“Adoption,” whispered the first, with a barely concealed squeal.

Tao whined softly in his sleep, holding Mr Panda tighter against his chest.

“Wait! Clothes on or off?”

“On, motherer, our baby Tao is still innocent!” A slap.

An indignant “Hey!” with another slap.

A punch. “Will you two shut the up.”

A long pause.

“Um. So. How are we gonna do this?”

“Suho’s a lot lighter than Peaches, you know.”

A low wolf whistle. “God damn, baby Tao has sweet abs.”

“Stop ing on him, you ing sleaze.”

“Hey! You’re the sleaze for thinking up such a y plan!”

“We all voted on it!”

“This is plagiarism. You’re just reusing my plan from last year!”

Tao stirred, eyes slitting open. “What plan?”

The four boys caught in the act froze, eyes swivelling over to where Tao was sitting up, panda in his lap as he rubbed his eyes with the back of a hand.

“What plan?” Tao repeated.

Yixing, Luhan, Minseok and Jongdae stared down at him, mouths open and jaws dropped, unmoving.

Tao blinked, still squinty as he gradually got used to the light spilling from the suite into his dark bedroom through the open door. “What are you guys doing?”

“Ah, nothing!” Luhan was the first to speak, eerily cheerful as he waved his hands. “Absolutely nothing at all! Nope. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Nope.”

Minseok rolled his eyes, elbowing Luhan in the ribs to shut him up. “Just came to check on you, Peaches.”

“We were going to put you in Kris’ bed,” Yixing said bluntly.

Jongdae groaned, loudly. “Oh god, for ’s sake, hyung.”

Tao stared up at them, eyes wide with shock as he clutched at his stuffed panda. “Ge?” His voice was shrill, wobbly as he looked between the four of them.

“Okay, fine,” Luhan sighed, crawling to sit on Tao’s bed as they all sat down. “Look, baby Tao, we’re just trying to be supportive.”

“But...” They waited patiently, but Tao just shook his head and repeated, “but...”

“Are you mad at us?” Yixing asked, rubbing Tao’s back comfortingly.

“No.” Tao kept looking between them. “I’m not mad, I’m just...”

“Just what, Peaches?” Minseok patted Tao’s knee.

“Kris-ge doesn’t think of me that way,” Tao blurted out. “So please, I don’t want to make him uncomfortable around me.”

“That is hardly the reason why,” Jongdae muttered, and Minseok shot him a warning glare.

“We’ll stop if you don’t like it,” he said.

“I really don’t mind,” Tao said. “But I don’t want to burden Kris-ge anymore.”

Luhan snapped his fingers in their faces as his face light up with renewed purpose. “No worries, baby Tao! When in doubt, seduce.”

“The ?” Minseok looked at Luhan like he was crazy. (He was.)

“No, wait, I think Lu-hyung is onto something here,” Jongdae said, sitting up excitedly.

“I don’t think that’s quite it,” Tao said, but was categorically ignored.

“Since he doesn’t think of you that way, we’ll make him think of you that way,” Luhan said, snatching Mr Panda from Tao and patting himself on the shoulder with a paw. “God, I’m a ing genius.”

Yixing was already rummaging through Tao’s closet. “We’re gonna need to go shopping.” He was joined by Jongdae, who began looking through Tao’s underwear drawer.

“Baby Tao needs to things up,” he said, turning with a frown at the panda boxers in his hands.

“Don’t worry, we’ll teach you moves,” Minseok said, doing body rolls as he waved his hands in the air.  

“I got moves,” Tao said grumpily, but was ignored once more.

“Now that we have a plan, I need some ing beauty sleep,” Luhan said, handing Mr Panda back to Tao and standing from the bed. “Baby Tao, I’ll expect you after classes for a shopping trip.”

“Don’t worry, baby Tao, we’ll help you get your man,” Yixing said, stepping over piles of Tao’s clothing as he headed for the door.

“I don’t need to get a man,” Tao tried, but (as always) it was futile.

“This time it’ll definitely work. Trust me,” Jongdae said, patting Tao’s shoulder with Mr Panda’s paw.

“Night, Peaches,” Minseok said, forcefully pushing Tao down into his bed and pressing a kiss onto his forehead.

“Remember, baby Tao,” Luhan cooed. “Shopping tomorrow after class!”

The door shut with an ominous click, leaving Tao blinking in the dark.

O.o o.O

/Part 11: M for Meddling

O.o o.O