~o3 Kiss Me: TaoRis

“Settle down with me and I’ll be your safety…”

 

 

 

 

            Tao pats his clothes down to get rid of the collected dust and glances around the nearly empty room before him. He gives out a small sigh. This will be the last time he’ll be standing in his bedroom like this. After four years of living in this small apartment by himself he’s finally moving out. He’ll be living with his boyfriend, Kris, from now on in their new home.

            “Baby, it’s time to get going. Everything’s loaded into the truck and the movers are ready to go.” Kris shouts from down the hallway.

            “Okay, I’ll be out in a sec.” Tao replies. He bends down to grab the last remaining box and proceeds to walk out into the hallway, but he stumbles over his feet after trying to avoid a thumbtack that he swears wasn’t there before when he had swept the room earlier.

            He curses when he falls first onto the ground; the box crashing down along with him, spilling its contents out onto the floor. Tao groans at the mess and hastily picks everything that had fallen out back into the box, which were mostly random old journals and photo albums. When he grabs the last photo book, a small wallet sized photograph slips out from the inside. Tao picks it up and squints at it in thought. He tries to read the childishly scribbled handwriting that’s imprinted on the back, but he can’t make out what it says, so he flips it around and stares at a charming, yet goofy smile of a beautiful young boy. He smiles automatically and remembers back to when he had first found this photo. He was only five years old then.

           

---

 

            “Tao! Tao! You can’t catch me! I’m going to win!” His friend, Sehun, shouts teasingly.

            “Wait! Sehun! Wait!” Tao yells out in exhaustion, “Wait for me!”

            Sehun continues to run ahead of him and laughs excitedly when he reaches the top of the hill. He shouts for Tao to hurry up when Tao stops running.

            “I hate you.” Tao mumbles when he finally reaches Sehun’s side. Sehun pouts at his friend’s words, but quickly dismisses it and pulls at the boy’s wrist.

            “You don’t mean that. C’mon let’s play something else then.”

            “Okay.”

            “What do you want to play?”

            Tao immediately says he wants to play hide and go seek, but Sehun grumbles at the boy’s suggestion and points out that hide and go seek is no fun with just the two of them. Tao points off into the direction down the hill, back to where the playground was, and insists that they should ask the other kids to play with them. Sehun finally gives in and runs back down the hill, almost tripping over his untied shoe laces, and asks the other children if they would like to play hide and go seek with them. They agree as long as none of them have to be “it.” Sehun says he wouldn’t mind being “it” first, and so, they eagerly begin their first game.

            As five year old Sehun hides his face in his hands and counts up to thirty—occasionally skipping numbers in-between without realizing it—Tao runs towards the small climbing dome that’s nearby the monkey bars. There’s a big hole at the top and he figures he could just slip inside and hide in there, but once Tao peers through the opening two boys are already occupying the space.

            “Sorry, Tao.” One of the boys says apologetically. He had enormous round eyes and if Tao remembers correctly his name is Kyungsoo.

            “Go away! We already have this spot!” The other boy next to Kyungsoo yells out. Kyungsoo shoves him slightly.

            “Jongin, that’s rude! You need to say sorry to Tao.”

            “But, hyung…”

            “It’s alright.” Tao says, “I can find another spot.”

            “Okay, Tao. Good luck!” Kyungsoo says encouragingly.

            Tao leaves the two boys and scans the playground. Sehun has already counted up to the number fifteen, but Tao thinks he’s skipped a few numbers again, or did he just go from eighteen back down to fifteen? It doesn’t matter. He needs to find a hiding spot.

            He dashes back up the hill and decides he’ll just hide behind one of the bushes instead. None of the other kids have gone up here yet so maybe Sehun will think everyone had hidden nearby the playground. Tao crouches down behind an overgrown hedge and fiddles with his fingers in anticipation.

            “Ready or not here I come!” Sehun finally shouts out.

            Tao takes a small peek and giggles when Sehun finds Kyungsoo and Jongin first. Maybe it was a good thing he didn’t hide inside the dome after all. Jongin stomps his foot when he gets out and pouts angrily. Kyungsoo pats him on the head reassuringly and tells him that it’s alright. Sehun impatiently jumps up and down beside the two boys and tells them they have to help him find the others now. They didn’t really make that a rule, but Tao figures Sehun’s too lazy to actually do all the work of finding everyone all by himself.

            Ten minutes pass by and Tao is starting to get bored. Maybe they forgot all about him. He curls his arms tightly around his knees and starts to doze off, his head tilting off to the side. He eventually topples over and lands backwards into the bush. He grunts and picks himself up hoping Sehun and the other kids didn’t hear him. He turns around to see, but then something glossy catches his eyes. He blinks at it for a moment before reaching his hand out into the thick hedge, ignoring the small cuts he gets from the little branches, and pulls the item towards him.

            His eyes round slightly in awe as he stares at a small photo of a boy smiling up at him. The boy had a gummy smile, which made his appearance slightly goofy, although it only helped enhance the smiling boy in a charmingly cute way. He was a handsome little boy and Tao finds himself smiling at the photo.

            “Aha!” Sehun yells out from nowhere, tackling himself into Tao’s small frame, “I found you!”

            “Sehun!” Tao whines as he clutches the photo tight in his little fingers, making sure that it didn’t get crushed underneath him. 

 

---

 

            “Tao, what’s taking you so long? Are you alright? I heard a crash.” Kris asks in a rush as he enters the room.

            Tao looks up from the photo, forgetting about the momentary flashback, and smiles at the sight of his boyfriend, “Oh, nothing. I just dropped the box.”

            Kris chuckles at his boyfriend’s clumsiness and picks up the box, “I’ll take it for you then. C’mon, let’s go home.”

            Tao slips the photo into his back pocket and kisses Kris’s cheek, “Yea, let’s go home.”

 

---

 

            At the end of the day, Tao is faced with a mountain load of boxes that still need to be unpacked. He doesn’t really mind, though, he may feel exhausted, but he is content. He likes seeing his boyfriend’s and his belongings finally intermingled together like this. He opens one of the untouched boxes that lay out in the middle of the hallway, which belonged to Kris, and feels warmth seep throughout his entire body when he sees the items that are placed inside.

            It was filled completely to the brim with photo frames of both his boyfriend’s and his own smiling faces, worn out journals they used to pass to one another back in middle school, random books they had read together in high school, ripped tickets from their old movie dates, and various other things that were exclusive only to Kris and Tao. Looking at all of these items brings Tao so many fond memories of their childhood and of their long-lasting relationship.

 

---

 

            “Hi, my name is Kris. What’s yours?” The new student says with a toothy-grin.

            “I thought your name was Kevin?”

            “Huh? Uh, no, it’s Kris.”

            That was how Tao and Kris first met in kindergarten.

           

---

 

            “You’re just a big baby!” Sehun shouts.

            “Well, you’re a big baby, too!” Tao retorts as large tears spew out from his eyes. All he wanted was to play with Sehun’s new toy car for a little while that’s all. Why was Sehun being such a brat?

            “No, I’m not!” Sehun screams as he chucks another toy car, or maybe it was a building block, at his friends head. It hits Tao right smacked in the middle of his forehead, leaving a nasty red mark to imprint on his skin, and it makes him cry even harder.

            “You’re so mean!” Tao wails.

            “Here, you can play with my toy. His name’s Ace.” Kris says as he places his toy alpaca into Tao’s lap, smiling brightly.

            Tao stops his crying for a split second and stares at the toy with confusion. It wasn’t a toy car, but the thought of Kris actually sharing his toy—one that he never ever shares with anyone—makes him forget all about Sehun’s stupid new toy car. He smiles and hugs it close to his chest as he looks over at Kris, who seemed to be proud of himself for making the boy stop crying.

            That was how Tao and Kris became friends.

 

---

 

            “Kris, Sehun doesn’t love me anymore!” Tao voices out a bit too dramatically.

            “What do you mean Sehun doesn’t love you anymore? He’s your best friend. He’ll always love you.”Kris says nonchalantly thinking Tao was just being his usual drama queen self.

            “He’s not my best friend! If he was then he wouldn’t be paying attention to that stupid deer all the time.”

            “You mean, Luhan?” Kris corrects.

            “No. I meant deer.”

            “It’s just a crush, Tao. Sehun will probably get over it.”

            “No.” Tao replies quietly, which catches Kris off-guard, “He won’t get over it because…because of the way he looks at him and…smiles…and…I…” Tao slumps his shoulders, “I don’t know what to do. It’s always been Sehun and me.” Tao looks imploringly into Kris’s eyes, feeling like a lost child, “Kris, what will happen to us—to Sehun and me? And—and our friendship?”

            Kris smiles reassuringly and takes one of Tao’s hands into his own, “You still have me, Tao. I’ll be with you.”                      

            That was the start of Tao’s and Kris’s love story.

 

---

 

             “No!”

            Kris stares with wide eyes at Tao’s front door, which was slammed quite forcefully in front of his face just barely a second ago. He finally has the strength to blink and heaves a sigh, staring down sadly at the small bouquet of red roses in his hands. Well, it was worth the try he guesses.

            With a heavy heart and a frown on his face, he begins to turn around, but the front door is suddenly flung open again with Tao running straight into his arms. Kris stumbles back a step or two in surprise as Tao wraps his arms tightly around his waist, head buried deep in his chest.

            “Okay.” Tao mumbles.

            “What?” Kris chuckles lightly, “I can’t hear you.”

            Tao glares at him when he lifts his head up against Kris’ chest, his cheeks flushed red in embarrassment for repeating himself once again, “I said ‘okay,’ okay?”

            Kris smiles fondly when he understands what Tao was referring to and wraps his arms around Tao more properly, “Okay.”

            That was how Tao and Kris started dating.

 

---

 

            “Goddamnit, Sehun, would you stop face with Luhan for a sec and just listen to me? Please!”

            “Oh, alright. What is it that you want?” Sehun says reluctantly pulling his boyfriend, who’s currently sitting on his lap, closer to him, and rests his chin against his shoulder.

            “It’s Kris.”

            “Of course it is.” His friend offhandedly mumbles.

            “Sehun, could you like not right now?”

            “Oh, yes, yes, do carry on.”

            Tao rolls his eyes, “So, he asked me something.”

            Sehun smacks his lips indigently when Tao suddenly stops speaking and waves his hand in order to tell his best friend to get on with it, “And, uh, what would that something be, Tao?”

            “Well, um, he…” Tao rubs the back of his neck, “He asked me to move in with him.”

            Sehun is silent for a moment as he takes this small bit of information in, but the silence is immediately cut with the sounds of his happy laughter, “That’s great, Tao! Like, seriously, it’s about time. You need to move out of that godforsaken apartment of yours anyway.”

            “Hey, that place has been my home for a good four years, Sehun!”

            “Whatever, it’s still a ty—”

            Luhan, whom Tao had forgotten was even there, clamps Sehun’s mouth shut, “Watch your language, Sehun.”

            “But, hyung, I’m not a kid.” Sehun whines.

            Luhan ignores him and gives Tao a soft smile, “You should move in with Kris. I believe it’ll do you both good.”  

            “Are you sure? Do you really think it’s a good idea?” Tao asks while he fiddles with his fingers.

            “Don’t think about it too hard, Tao.” Luhan says as he gets off Sehun’s lap to pat Tao’s shoulder comfortingly before walking off to get something from the kitchen.  

            Not a second goes by before Tao is asking Sehun for his opinion once again. Sehun groans and slaps a hand to his face. It was a Saturday night and all he wants is to be alone with his adorable and cute boyfriend, but no, his best friend has to come out of the blue and share his insecurities with him. Sehun shakes his head. No, it’s alright. Tao has always been patient with him and has always put up with his crap so he looks his best friend in the eyes and smiles genuinely.

            “Tao, we’ve known Kris for years—well, you a little better than me for obvious reasons.” Sehun winks.

            “Hey!” Tao interjects. Was his friend really bringing that up now?

            “But really, we both know Kris. There’s nothing for you to be afraid of. You’ve been in a relationship for how long now? Five years? Don’t you want to take it the next step? It’s not like things are moving too fast for you guys, and I agree with Luhan. I think it would do you guys good.”  

            Tao thinks about it for a while before nodding his head, “Okay. Thanks, Sehun.”

            “Sure. Anytime. Now, would you be so kind as to get out of my house so I can be alone with my boyfriend? Please and thank you.” 

            That was how Tao finally got the nerve to agree moving in with Kris.

 

---

 

            “What are you doing out here, baby?” Kris asks as he moves behind Tao to give him a back hug and a tender kiss to the side of his nape.

            Tao settles into his boyfriend’s arms and brings up some of the old photographs he was looking at of him and Kris back in their high school days.  

            “I was just remembering things from the past.” Tao says before abruptly laughing and pointing at one of the photos, “I can’t believe you actually dressed up as an angry bird for Halloween that one year.”

            Kris snatches it away from Tao’s hands and coughs embarrassedly, “I thought I got rid of that photo.”

            Tao shakes his head with a smile and takes it back from Kris. He turns back around and neatly hangs the photo on the wall of the hallway. He then takes a step back and admires it for a bit feeling happiness course through his body.  

            “I’m happy, Kris.”

            Kris smiles at Tao’s sudden statement and snuggles into Tao’s neck, “I’m happy, too.”

            “We’ve been together for a long time haven’t we?”

            “Yes, and we’ll always be together won’t we.”

            Tao chuckles, “I have to admit you weren’t my first crush though.”

            Kris straightens himself and turns Tao around, “What? But you told me I was your first for everything. Don’t tell me…it was Sehun.”

            Tao makes a retching sound, “Oh, god, Sehun as my first crush? No. No. Never in a billion years. We tell each other we love each other all the time, but c’mon we’re best friends. We say that just to joke around.”

            Kris frowns not really sure he’s happy with Tao’s response. He knows Tao and Sehun have been friends since their diaper days—he himself becoming their friend a bit later—but he can’t help but think that there could have been a possibility of attraction somewhere during their youth.

            Tao steps forward and cups Kris’s cheeks with his hands, “Trust me it’s not Sehun. Even if he were to be the last person on Earth, I wouldn’t fall in love with him. I only love you, okay? I love you.”

            “I love you, too.” Kris responds giving Tao a small peck, “I really, really love you.”

            Tao giggles when Kris starts to pepper kisses all over his face.

            “So who is this lucky bastard that was your first crush, hm?”

            Tao lightly smacks his boyfriend’s chest, “There’s no reason for you to call him names.”

            “Just tell me, baby. Is it someone I know?”

            Tao shakes his head, “No. I doubt you’ll know. Even I don’t know.”

            Kris snorts, “What? How do you not know? That person was your first crush.”

            “I never got his name.” Tao takes the wallet sized photo of the smiling boy from his back pocket, the one that fell out from his box earlier today, and shows it to Kris. “Isn’t he cute? I was only five when I found this picture. It was stuck in the bushes at the park Sehun and I used to always play at when we were kids.”

            Kris just stares at it with wide eyes completely speechless. Tao starts to worry and pats his cheek to get his attention.

            “What’s wrong, Kris? It’s like you’ve seen a ghost or something—unless,” Tao laughs jokingly, “you’re jealous my first crush is so much cuter than you were in your baby years.”

            Kris starts laughing at that and shakes his head with a huge smile, “No, no, I’m not jealous because of something like that. It’s just…I can’t believe this. Tao, the boy in this picture, this is me.”

            Tao’s eyes bulge out in shock after comprehending what Kris had said, “What? No way.” He looks back down at the photo then back to his boyfriend, “Are you serious? There’s no resemblance at all!”

            Kris takes the photo gently out of Tao’s hand, kissing his forehead, “I lost this photo back at the park when I was a kid. My mom was so furious with me. We were going back home after picking these pictures up from the photography studio. I wanted to look at them so my mom let me see one, but as we went through the park I saw my cousins and ended up playing some soccer with them and that’s when I lost it. I can’t believe out of all the people in the world it ended up in your hands. It must be fate.”

            Tao blinks, “Really? This is you?”

            Kris nods, “Yeah, it is. I can bring out all my baby photos and show you if you don’t believe me.”

            “But…but, you’re cheeks are so chubby in this photo and—wow, you look so different.”

            “In a good way, right?” Kris asks.

            Tao laughs, “Of course.”

            “So does this means I was your first for everything?” Kris asks softly this time.

            Tao smiles and reaches a hand over to clutch the back of his boyfriends head, treading his fingers lightly against the back of Kris’s hairline, “Yes.”

            Kris places his forehead against Tao’s and looks deep into his eyes, “I love you, Tao.”

            Tao closes his eyes and enjoys the warmth he feels settling deep in his heart as he whispers the same words back, a gentle kiss on the lips to seal their affection. It’s amazing he thinks that all this time Kris has been his love even when he was a child. Fate really did have a whole new meaning for him now and he feels so incredibly happy. Tao isn’t afraid of what tomorrow will bring him since he knows he’ll always have Kris by his side.     

 

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A/N:

I’ve written and rewritten this soooooo many times that I’ve lost count and it still didn’t come out like how I wanted it to. For some reason it was really hard for me to get inspiration to write this and with the whole Kris issue, I wasn’t so sure if I should continue, but I told myself that I needed to finish what I had started so here it is. I hope you guys like it despite all the mistakes. Thank you to old subbies, and to the new, and to everyone who took the time to read this.

<3 dububrit-on