Luhan called Tao that afternoon, which was completely unexpected. Tao had forgotten what his voice sounded like.

                “I hear you’re coming to Laytoria’s wedding party in Macau tomorrow,” Luhan said, and at first, Tao had no clue who he was talking to.

                “Do I know you?” he asked.

                “It’s Luhan!” Luhan cried. “Your best friend from high school. Don’t you remember me?”

                “Best friend my . You were glued to Sehun the whole time.”

                “I took good care of you and you know it,” Luhan said moodily. “Anyway, you’re coming, right?”

                “How did you get this number?” Tao wondered, and Luhan made an annoyed noise on the other end.

                “Lay gave it to me, gosh,” Luhan said. “Tao, are you coming or aren’t you? Stop avoiding the question!”

                “I’m coming,” Tao said finally. “I think it should cheer me up a little.”

                “What’s going on?” Luhan asked, sounding concerned, and Tao sighed, sitting down on his bed.

                “Lay has probably told you,” Tao said, and Luhan replied with a no.

                “He hasn’t told me anything. He just said that you and Kris met again.”

                “We did more than meet, that’s for sure,” Tao laughed hollowly. “In fact, we almost ed and then I remembered that I had a boyfriend.”

                “You have a boyfriend?” Luhan demanded, and Tao shushed him.

                “Not anymore. He dumped me,” Tao said.

                “Because he found out you cheated on him?” Luhan surmised.

                “No,” Tao said, “because he could tell I didn’t love him, because I didn’t want to have with him even though I said I was ready.”

                “So…you’re saying that you would have with Kris but not with your boyfriend?” Luhan asked.

                “Are we really having this conversation?” Tao countered. “I haven’t seen you in six years.”

                “Good thing we can catch up with a simple phone call, huh?” Luhan laughed. “But seriously. Please tell me that you haven’t cheated on anyone since Kris.”

                “I haven’t. I promise. As much as it seems like a chronic disease, I don’t cheat on everyone. And I regret cheating on Kris with Mianzhi more and more every day. Especially now.”

                “Do you love him?” Luhan asked quietly, and Tao flopped down on his bed.

                “Yes,” he whispered.

                “Well then, I’m sure you two will be able to work things out,” Luhan said. “He loves you too, I’m sure of it. He’s just angry because the situation you were in when you…uh, ‘almost ed’ was really similar to when you cheated on him. He loves you, though. He does.”

                “How would you know?” Tao demanded. “You haven’t seen either of us in ages.”

                “False,” Luhan said, “I’ve seen Kris regularly. Lay too.”

                “So he’s told you he loves me,” Tao said, and Luhan sighed.

                “Well, no, but we don’t talk that often. Regularly, but not frequently.”

                “And yet here you are telling someone you’ve barely talked to in six years about how much he loves them.”

                “Tao, seriously.”

                “I’m just saying,” Tao replied.

                “Okay, well, I’ll keep saying it, because it’s true. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?” Luhan said, and Tao sighed as he hung up the phone. He wanted to believe Luhan, but it was difficult when Kris was so angry.

-

                It took two hours to get from Guangzhou to Macau by bus, but Tao slept the entire way there. He’d hardly been able to sleep the night before, because the day with Kris in his apartment kept playing and replaying through his head.

                Macau was beautiful, all decorated for Christmas in colored lights and seasonal adornments on all the buildings. He got off at the Dawn Hotel, where Lay and Victoria had told him to meet them.

                He stepped off, holding just his phone, looking around. Everyone was wearing wintery clothes and Tao smiled just a little. Christmas had always been his favorite holiday.

                “Tao!” he heard Luhan cry, and suddenly he was being hugged tightly around the middle, having nearly been knocked over.

                “Luhan,” Tao replied, and Lay and Victoria walked over, grinning. “Hey, guys. I came.”

                “Great, because we’d like you to meet my best man,” Lay said, stepping aside to reveal another person.

                “Kris,” Tao choked, looking back at Lay, who was smiling.

                “I think you guys might already know each other,” he said smartly.

                “You’re the best man,” Tao said, “congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Kris replied. Luhan and Lay watched the two of them look at each other, and Tao didn’t know whether to cry or run or yell or just pretend that nothing was happening.

                Victoria clapped her hands conspicuously.           

                “Well,” she said, “should we send these two off then?” Tao and Kris both whipped their heads around.

                “What?” Kris asked. “Off where?”

                “You two are going on a walk. We’re going to find a wedding cake,” Luhan explained, smirking at them all the while.

                “But—” Tao protested, but the three others had already started walking away from them. He turned to Kris, looking lost, and Kris had an enigmatic expression on his face. “It’s…this wasn’t my idea, they just—I had no clue that this was going—”

                “Where do you want to go?” Kris asked. Tao took a step back in surprise. “What? Since they left us, we might as well make the most of it, right?”

                “Okay,” Tao replied, taking his spot next to Kris as they walked down the plaza.

                “I can’t wait for their wedding,” Kris said conversationally. “Lay has been into her forever.”

                “It should be fun,” Tao replied, still not exactly sure what was going on.

                “It’s a nice day, right?” Kris asked, and Tao nodded.

                “It’s a little cold,” he said, “but yeah, it’s nice.”

                “You always loved Christmas, right?” Kris continued. Tao looked at his feet as they kept walking.

                “Kris, I don’t know what’s going on right now,” Tao said. “I’m sorry, I just really have no clue what’s going on.”

                “I’m just making small talk,” Kris said, sounding irritated.

                “I can tell, but—”

“So how are you and your boyfriend?” Kris asked, and Tao stared up at him, completely appalled.

                “I told you, he dumped me,” he replied.

                “And you haven’t hooked up with him or anyone else since then?” Kris wondered. Tao stopped walking, still looking completely horrified that Kris would even bring up that subject.

                “Why would I do that when you’re the only person I can think about?” Tao demanded, hot tears once again pricking at his eyes. “Ever since you decided to walk back into my life, you’ve been the only thing on my mind. I couldn’t have with Ailun, not after you and I almost did. I didn’t love him, and I don’t think I ever did.”

                Kris turned to face Tao, and the glittering lights of the plaza were shimmering behind him. He didn’t look convinced, and Tao was so frustrated that he didn’t know what he should do.

                “Do I believe you?” Kris asked, and Tao started crying, crouching down on the sidewalk.

                “I don’t know what I can do to make you believe me,” he sobbed. “I can’t stop thinking about you, but when we’re like this—”

                “Shh,” Kris said, putting a hand on Tao’s back, rubbing small circles. “Stand up, stop crying,” he said gently, and Tao did, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. He sniffled, looking back up at Kris, whose expression had softened.

                “I’m sorry,” Tao said, his voice slightly hoarse from crying. “I shouldn’t have reciprocated. I shouldn’t have let you think that I didn’t have a boyfriend.”

                “Shouldn’t have let me think that you were interested,” Kris said.

                “I was interested,” Tao sniffled. Kris sighed, smiling slightly.

                “I fell for you the first time when I saw you crying. Is that weird?” Kris asked, and Tao let out a teary laugh.

                “It’s weird,” he replied quietly.

                “If I said I forgave you for cheating on me all those years ago, and for leading me on now, could we start over, maybe?”

                “I don’t want to start over,” Tao said. “That would mean meeting you again, learning to fall in love with you again. I want to keep going.” Kris smiled.

                “That’s what we’ll do, then. I forgive you for everything,” Kris told him, reaching out a hand to wipe away Tao’s tears. “Should we keep going?”

                “Yes,” Tao nodded, looking down. Kris took his chin between his fingers and tilted it up so that their eyes met.

                “You’re still just as cute as you’ve always been,” Kris said.

                “You still make me weak at the knees,” Tao admitted shyly, looking away again. Kris chuckled and threaded his fingers between Tao’s.

                “That’s good to know,” Kris said, but Tao wasn’t completely satisfied.

                “I really am sorry,” he said, but Kris stopped him.

               “It’s ok, Tao, really,” Kris said, putting a comforting hand between Tao’s shoulder blades.

               “I want to get this off my back,” Tao told him, looking up earnestly, and Kris nodded. “I just got caught up in how much I missed being yours and I let it get too far and I’ll never do anything like this again. I know my word doesn’t mean a whole lot at this point, but I’ll never ever do anything to hurt you, I swear.”

               “That’s good enough for me,” Kris smiled, pecking Tao on the cheek. Tao blushed with a smile. “You don’t have to worry anymore, okay? I accept your apology. And anyway, I know how much you love me. Do you know how I know?”

               “How?” Tao wondered, and Kris grinned.

               “Because you couldn’t have with your boyfriend, but you had no problems with me. And I’m the only thing on your mind, right?” Kris said, and Tao punched him playfully.

               “You’re arrogant,” Tao said.

               “I’m right,” Kris replied, and Tao nodded in agreement.

                “You’re right and I’m so glad you are,” Tao said. Kris stopped him, pulling him closer, and when their lips met, Tao finally felt at peace.

                “What do you say we ditch this party and go back to Guangzhou for some dinner at my place?” Kris asked. “And you’ll be sleeping over, of course.”

                “I’m up for that,” Tao smiled. 

A/N: Alright so the next chapter (Chapter 9) is identical to Fated Bond's chapter 10. So if you're curious as to this version's ending...it's the same as the real version. 

The reason I didn't write this is that there is absolutely no way I could justify Tao cheating on Ailun and then still getting back together with Kris as if nothing had happened. And I really didn't want to end it with them not together (because what kind of fated bond is that seriously) so yeah that's why it changed. 

Up next is the very very old version that is completely different from this and was written almost right after I finished writing Simple.