Warning: Language only.

A/N at bottom ^^

O.o o.O

The store was dark, with flashing disco lights and a heavy pounding bass that seemed to make the walls and floor shake. Tao had been there before, but had never thought the clothing would look good on him.

“THIS,” Luhan said definitively, holding up a pair of black skinny jeans with rips down the front.

“They’re too small,” Tao said in a tiny voice.

Luhan didn’t hear (or was pretending not to hear) over the music, and held them up to Tao’s hips. They didn’t even go to either end of his pelvic bone. “PERFECT.” Luhan’s wide-eyed expression looked just a tiny bit crazed.

“Yeah, that’ll be y,” Minseok said, nodding next to Luhan.

“They’re too small,” Tao tried again, as Luhan shoved the jeans into Tao’s arms.

“DID YOU SAY SOMETHING, BABY TAO?” Luhan turned away, rifling through a rack of brightly coloured skinny jeans.

Tao squeezed his eyes shut. “THEY’RE TOO SMALL, LU-GE.”

“They stretch,” Minseok said. “They’ll fit perfectly.”

They didn’t.

Well, according to Luhan and Minseok they fit perfectly, like they were painted onto Tao’s legs, moulding to each contour of his hamstrings and calves. The slashes down the front showed more skin than they covered, the shadows of strong muscles in his thighs tantalisingly pale against the stark black denim. On top, as if in afterthought, Tao had on a fitted sleeveless shirt.

“Lu-ge, you can see my underwear,” Tao sniffed tearfully, turning around to eye his backside in the mirror. And indeed, the jeans were so tight that the seam of Tao’s boxer briefs was like an underscore to each cheek.

Luhan shrugged. “Go without.”

“Ge! I can’t do that!” Tao was appalled.

“No worries, Peaches, hyung will take you to buy new underwear.”

A wicked gleam shone in Luhan’s eyes. “LACE THONGS.”

“No!” Tao cupped his face in his hands; he could feel how hot his blush was. “Ge! I can’t!”

“There’s plenty of seamless underwear that aren’t lace thongs. Now get going, Peaches, this is only the first outfit.” Minseok shoved Tao back into the changing cubicle, yanking the curtain shut after.

Luhan peeked in through the edge. “Nice , baby Tao.”

Tao shrieked, yanking up his underwear from where they had been stuck to the skintight jeans as he tried to peel them off. “Lu-ge!” he wailed, “Stop that!”

Luhan just cackled. “Hurry up that sweet little of yours! We’re just getting started!”

O.o o.O

Tao slinked into their suite, trying unsuccessfully to hide his much taller frame behind Luhan and Minseok.

“Hey, you guys are...ba...uh...” Kris’ words trailed off into nothing as his eyes fixed on Tao.

“Close your mouth, Kris, you look like a .” Luhan bounced merrily towards the refrigerator, grabbing a can of beer and tossing another to Minseok, who sank down into an armchair with a long sigh, leaving a clump of shopping bags by the front door.

“Jesus , that was a lot of work.”

“Time well spent,” Luhan said, sitting down next to Minseok and clinking their beer cans together.

Tao shuffled over to sit next to Kris on the sofa, blinking hard when he realised that Kris wouldn’t even look in his direction.

“Where, uh...where did you guys go?” Kris asked, angling his body away from Tao’s.

“Oh, you know,” Luhan said nonchalantly. “Around.”

“To hell and back,” Minseok groaned, tilting his head back and finishing the beer in a few large gulps before getting up for another. “ing hell, I need like ten more of these to make up for shopping with Luhan.”

Kris swallowed hard. “Sh-shopping, huh?”

Luhan reached over with his foot, kicking Kris repeatedly in the knee. “Hey Kris, Kris, what d’ya think of Tao’s new clothes? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? H-”

“For ’s sake, Luhan!” Kris snapped, shoving Luhan’s foot away. His eyes met Tao’s; he was the first to break their gaze after only the briefest of moments. “It’s -” Kris’ voice cracked, and he flushed in embarrassment, coughing into his fist to clear it. “It’s okay,” he managed finally. “I mean. It’s just, like, regular clothing, right?”

Tao ducked his head, berating himself for feeling disappointed at all. Kris was right, after all, he was just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Very skinny dark blue jeans that fit like leggings, and a soft white t-shirt that clung to him, thin enough to display the natural tan of his skin, but jeans and a t-shirt all the same.

Minseok whirled away from where he was putting more beer into the freezer, hoping for a quick chill. He smiled at Kris, though the dark look on his delicate features was anything but pleasant. “What was that?” he asked in a wondering tone. “Did I hear you say something about regular clothing?”

Even Kris had enough sense of self-preservation to realise he had crossed some invisible line with Minseok. “Um, no,” he said slowly. “No, I definitely meant that Tao has never looked better. Definitely.”

“I see my time hasn’t gone to waste then,” Minseok continued in the same airy voice.

“Definitely not,” Kris said, with a firm nod of his head. “Definitely not a waste of time.”

“That’s what I thought,” Minseok said, with a lofty arch of his eyebrow.

Luhan cleared his throat uncomfortably, expression stiff as he eyed Minseok warily. “Hey, Minseok-ah, why don’t we take Tao out tonight? Show him off a bit? Yeah?”

“No!” Kris choked out, at the same time that an enthusiastic Tao and Minseok chimed, “Yes!”

There was a pause as all eyes went to Kris.

“And why not?” Minseok asked mildly.

“Be-because! It’s a school night!”

“Are you ing dumb?” Luhan countered. “You’re in ing university. There’s no such thing as a ing school night. And besides, the college bar closes at one, so we have plenty of time for baby Tao to get back and have his eight hours of sleep before his class tomorrow.”

Minseok nodded along with Luhan’s rant. “Peaches, we’ll take you out for an early dinner and then we’ll head over to the bar afterwards.”

“Can we have meat?” Tao asked, the thought of barbecue too irresistible to stand.

“Sure,” Minseok said. “Let’s ask K to go, too.”

“I’ll text Suho-hyung now!” Tao already had his phone in his hands, his jeans too tight to fit anything in the pockets.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Kris said, brows drawn together in a heavy furrow.

“It’s a ing amazing idea because it’s my idea,” Luhan said, pulling his phone out also to text everyone else of their plans.

Minseok finished his can of beer quietly, getting up for a third and glancing back over his shoulder at Kris. “Want one?”

Kris watched from the corner of his eyes as Tao squealed excitedly that “Suho-hyung’s going to buy me samgyupsal!”

“Naw,” he said. “Just.” He sighed. “Yeah, thanks.”

Minseok handed him a can and patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll need more of this tonight.”

Kris saw Tao going over to the pile of bags by the door, bending over at the waist to gather them in his hands. “Yeah,” he said, completely resigned. “Yeah, I definitely will.”

O.o o.O

Dinner was heavenly.

At the very least, it was for Tao. Suho had promised him as many servings of meat as he could eat, and Tao was certainly taking advantage of it, sitting between Minseok and Suho, the two of whom alternated feeding him huge lettuce wraps of meat as Tao (being maknae) refilled all the drinks within his reach and turned the sizzling meat on the grill accordingly.

“Is this what you wanted, baby Tao?” Suho asked, a (clean) hand through Tao’s hair.

Tao nodded enthusiastically, cheeks too full of food to answer verbally. His eyes sparkled, and he looked at Suho adoringly.

Kris watched all this from a few seats down the long table, downing shots of soju and the occasional piece of meat (because munchies). Unfortunately, he was also sitting right between Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber, the two of them ignorant to the fact that Kris just wanted to sit and sulk in peace.

“Why so glum, sugarplum?” Baekhyun’s grin was entirely too close, and Kris shoved him back with a large palm to the face. “Are you jealous that no one’s feeding you?”

“Here, hyung. Say ‘ah’.” Chanyeol held a piece of meat to Kris’ lips.

“Ew, stop it.” Kris reared back, slapping Chanyeol’s chopsticks away.

Baekhyun leaned over to speak to Chanyeol across Kris. “Aw, Chanyeol-ah, look at Kris being all emo and jealous that our baby Tao is looking hotter than the grill and totally ignoring his flat .”

“Poor Kris,” Chanyeol chimed. “Stuck in a corner all lonesome.”

The two of them had matching wicked grins as Chanyeol slung an arm over Kris’ shoulder and Baekhyun clung to Kris’ side.

“Don’t take it to heart,” Chanyeol said. “You’ll get plenty of baby Tao later at the bar.”

“That is,” Baekhyun said, holding up a finger, “if you take the right steps to secure him for yourself.”

“Lots of vultures at bars, you know.” Chanyeol leaned even closer, nose almost brushing against Kris’ cheek. “Looking for fresh meat.”

Baekhyun’s lips were right next to Kris’ ear. “And baby Tao is just ripe for picking, isn’t he?”

“Shut up,” Kris hissed, shaking the two of them off him and tossing back another shot of soju.

“Just letting you know, hyung.” Baekhyun arched an eyebrow at him, the corner of his lips drawn into a smirk. He raised his voice to speak across the seats. “Looking good there, baby Tao.”

Tao looked over, hearing his name but unable to answer with his mouth stuffed full. He gave a cheerful wave, which Baekhyun returned.

“Yum yum, baby Tao,” Chanyeol said with a lascivious wink, holding his glass up in toast.

Baekhyun held up his drink as well, his lips slowly. “Delicious.”

Tao nodded enthusiastically with two thumbs up, though Kris just sunk further into his seat because he knew without doubt that Baekhyun and Chanyeol were not talking about the meat.

O.o o.O

The bar was dimly lit and noisy, though it wasn’t quite at full capacity yet, seeing as it was still fairly early in the evening. It was easy to push together a few tables to fit the twelve of them, Kris swatting away Sehun to situate himself next to Tao, the other side already occupied by Suho.

“First round on me,” Minseok said, standing up to head to the bar. “As eldest, I decree shots.”

“Let’s start with something easier,” Kris said somewhat desperately, chancing a quick glance towards Tao.

“Shots,” Minseok said stubbornly. “And then Luhan can get us a round of whatever lameass drinks you want.”

Kris leaned in to murmur into Tao’s ear, arm slung over the back of Tao’s chair. “You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to.”

Tao clasped his hands together as he bounced in his seat, clearly excited. “It’ll be fun, ge! I wonder what Minseok-hyung will get us!”

“Thousand won he gets tequila shots,” Baekhyun called out.

“Nah, he’ll get shooters ‘cause baby Tao’s a beginner!” Chanyeol pulled out a bill also. “My vote for Kamikaze!”

“s!” Jongdae shouted, waving a thousand-won bill.

“Snowball,” Luhan said, tossing his money over to Baekhyun.

“I think he’ll get tequila also,” Suho said, sliding his thousand won towards the pile in front of Baekhyun. He gave Tao a wide grin, patting his arm comfortingly. “It’ll be fun.”

“Don’t dilute the betting pool, hyung!” Baekhyun screeched, and Suho winced, changing his vote to “Jello shots.”

“B-52s!” Jongin slammed his hand onto the table, narrowly missing Kyungsoo’s fingertips.

“Sambuca,” Kyungsoo added quietly.

“Jäger bombs,” Sehun added, tossing a wadded up bill into Baekhyun’s face.

“You little ,” Baekhyun hissed, though he was interrupted by Yixing as he waved a ten thousand won bill.

“Ten thousand. Tequila for us but a - with extra chocolate sprinkles on top - for baby Tao.”

“Ooooooh,” everyone chorused, eyes wide.

Tao tugged on the side of Kris’ shirt. “Ge, I don’t know any of these drinks.”

“It’s okay,” Kris said, lips almost but not quite brushing against Tao’s ear. His arm slipped from the back of Tao’s chair to his shoulders. “You don’t have to drink anything you don’t want to.”

“I’ll be fine, ge.” Tao turned away when everyone started cheering at the sight of Minseok, a server following closely behind him with a tray of shots.

The second the server came close enough, however, the cheers turned to boos as a tray of tequila shots and one shooter with chocolate sprinkles was set down.

“HA, I WIN, ES!” Yixing scooped the pile of bills towards himself with both arms, cackling gleefully.

Minseok sat down with a roll of his eyes. “What did I tell you guys about stupid bets.”

“That Yixing always wins,” Luhan grumped.

“I don’t get it,” Jongdae wailed, face down and clawing at the table. “Is he psychic? Does he have ESPN?”

“I think you mean ESP,” Sehun said, lips pursed and brows set in a deep frown. “It isn’t a TV channel that’s telling him the answers.”

“Drink up, dumbs,” Minseok said, passing out the shots and handing the plate of limes down the table as Jongin began whining that he couldn’t do tequila shots without the salt. “Okay, Peaches, listen up. You can’t drink this with your hands, okay? No hands, that’s the rule.”

Tao looked confusedly at the tiny glass that was set before him. “How am I supposed to drink it, then?”

“Hands on the table, baby Tao,” Luhan said, miming out the actions. “Use your mouth.”

Kyungsoo returned with a couple salt shakers, and Tao hesitantly reached for one. “Do I need this?”

“No, baby Tao,” Suho said patiently. “You can use it later if you have a tequila shot. For now, just drink this. It’s sweet, but it’ll burn a little.”

“Well…I like whipped cream.”

“Just drink it normally,” Kris said, when everyone watched with bated breath as Tao leaned over, mouth wide open.

“NO!” Several of them shouted at the same time, glaring at Kris when Tao paused and sat back up.

“No hands,” Baekhyun said firmly.

“And he has to get all the whipped cream from the glass,” Chanyeol added.

Tao blinked. “How do I do that?”

“Use your tongue, baby Tao,” Jongdae said loudly in a stage whisper.

Luhan wiggled his tongue. “Tongue,” he repeated in the same loud whisper.

Tao nodded. “Okay. I can do this!”

“Go, baby Tao!”

“Just drink it normally,” Kris repeated, beginning to sound rather desperate as eleven pairs of eyes watched Tao wrap his lips around the glass and then toss his head back, the muscles of his throat working as he swallowed, pink tongue swiping against the clear glass to reach the last bits of whipped cream at the bottom. Time seemed to slow, dragging out the seconds into hours, years, but finally it was all over and reality hit Kris with a roar as their table burst into cheers when Tao held up an empty glass with a wide, satisfied grin, remnants of cream from the corners of his lips.

“I did it!”

Suho ruffled Tao’s hair. “Aww, I’m so proud of you.”

Jongin rolled his eyes, “Jesus, Gramps, you really don’t let up, do you?”

“Shut up, Jongin.”

Minseok waved his arms to get their attention. “Our turn now! Salt yourself or take it straight!”

There was a brief scuffle as everyone reached for a lime wedge and passed the salt around. A quick toast, and then Kris was grimacing as he swallowed the burning liquor while Luhan stumbled as he stood from his seat, coming over to yank Tao out of his own.

“Help me with the drinks, baby Tao. This round on me! Screaming s for everyone!”

Kris watched the two of them head towards the bar, and on his other side, Sehun nodded sagely. “Need to take him on rounds to show off that .”

Whipping his head around, Kris realised with a sinking stomach that Sehun was right. He scrambled up, long limbs almost knocking the small table over. “Gonna go help,” he mumbled.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol flashed him a thumbs up. “Go stake your claim, hyung!”

“He’s not a piece of meat,” Suho said indignantly, but was summarily ignored.

Kris hurried to catch up with Luhan and Tao, reaching them just in time to shoulder away a guy that had wanted to slide in next to Tao.

Tao looked up with a smile. “Ge! It’s okay, go sit; Lu-ge and I can handle it.”

“No,” Kris said, glaring at a girl that had been sneaking up behind Tao. “No, I’ll stay here with you.” He wrapped a possessive arm around Tao’s slim waist, pulling him in close.

“Okay,” Tao chirped, turning back to Luhan and missing the swat of Kris’ hand as someone tried to tap Tao on the shoulder. He shifted until he was slightly behind Tao, wanting to shield him from the many stares fixed directly on his .

It was going to be a long, long night.

O.o o.O

/Part 12

O.o o.O

A/N: First of all, I am SO SORRY this took so long. After hearing the news about Kris, I needed a break away from all things to do with K-pop and EXO, so that further delayed my already slow update. I will be continuing this story because I love taoris and that won't stop. I will also continue including Luhan. OT12 for me.

Thank you to all the readers, subscribers, and upvoters for your patience with me. Your comments give me life, and push me to continue writing. :D