This scene happened before Tao and Chanyeol graduated from the university, almost four years since the incident.

If there was a day in his life that Baekhyun absolutely despise, it would be moving day.

For almost four years, Luhan, Suho, Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Tao had been living together, an arrangement they find very convenient since their schools were close to each other’s, but also especially to keep an eye on the youngest. It was really hard to find an apartment that could fit five men and all their perks, so it’s a miracle on its own that they somehow did; but as they get older, the apartment could no longer fit their needs.

Luhan, who had landed a job closer to the business district, wanted an apartment around the city center to accommodate his schedule. His job now required him to stay until late at work, or sometimes available on on-call basis, and to make the trip home all the way to their current apartment would be very tiring especially with his habit of falling asleep anytime and anywhere. Chanyeol who had gotten an internship in the same area since his last semester, also had the same need. He also would like to start investing on a place since he had this goal to settle down with Baekhyun one day. So both of them decided to move out from their shared apartment and into different apartments in city center.

Not liking the idea of having two empty rooms in the house, Baekhyun insisted on finding another apartment for the three. He decided he didn’t want to leave Suho and Tao yet, because someone needed to cook for the elder since his job didn’t really leave him enough time to even sleep let alone to make food, and he wanted to company Tao whenever he could. The area where their current apartment was located was also closer to the studio where he’s teaching vocal youth group and now he could stay over at Chanyeol’s to accommodate his national theatre schedule, so the new arrangements would be even more convenient for him. Suho, Tao and himself found a new apartment just five blocks away from their old one, and decided to move on the same day Luhan and Chanyeol did.

Unluckily for him, he had the most stuff in the apartment, including the DVD and CD collections of live theatre performances and soundtracks, his costumes and accessories, and all kinds of make ups he owned. So while it only took Tao two days to move (it took 4 days for Suho because he could only do it between his shifts at the hospital), it took the whole week for Baekhyun to finally get his last box of makeup into his new bedroom in their new apartment.

Kai and D.O also finally moved in together, and they found a place closer to Hongdae because Kai insisted he didn’t want Kyungsoo to walk alone too far in the middle of the night after he closed the café. This made them live a little far from the others, but since where Kai worked was very close to where Baekhyun worked and with the fact that Tao and Chanyeol kept on going back and forth to D.O’s café to eat, it really didn’t feel like they actually lived apart anyway.

So the week was well spent, even though all of their muscles were aching and they wanted nothing more than to relax by the end of it.

On the Saturday morning, Tao was the first one of them all to wake up. His alarm was not set, but the sun shine bright through the blinds that he had forgotten to close the previous night. Tao sat up, yawning and looking at the view outside of his window. This apartment had better view, because it’s now on the 18^th floor. He climbed out of bed and watched the view below; a lot of little kids were hopping out with their hats and colorful backpacks, and a lot of other people were wearing tank tops since the day was really warm.

An idea popped into Tao’s head, and he rushed out of his room, pushing the door to Suho’s room open and jumped on the elder’s sleeping figure.

“Oooff!!” a groggy heavy sound was heard from Suho, while Tao giggled happily.

“Hyung, hyung wake up! Hyung wake up!” he said cheerfully, hitting Suho’s head with a pillow.

“Stop—“

“Hyung, hyung!”

“Yes, wait—“

“Hyung wake up!”

Suho took a deep breath before capturing Tao’s wrist in his hand, stopping him from hitting his head anymore, “I am up, panda. What was it?” he said with a tired voice, his eyes barely opened.

“It’s so bright out! Open your eyes, hyung! Hyung lets go and play! Everyone else was playing! Out and about, ready to play, I wanna go too!!” Tao exclaimed cheekily, throwing his arms around Suho’s back.

The elder chuckled gleefully, turning around so Tao rest on his chest, “Why so sudden?”

“Because I want to! Please hyung? Can we? Do you have to work?” Tao looked up to meet Suho’s eyes.

Suho stared at the younger, flicking his nose before answering, “I don’t have to. Today and tomorrow were my day off, after 13 days shift. Well deserved,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

Tao grabbed and pulled Suho’s pajamas in excitement, “So we could go, right hyung? Could we? We could!”

Suho laughed again, nuzzling his face in Tao’s hair while the other giggled into his chest, “Okay, okay. Give me five minutes to wake up. What do you have in mind?”

Tao sat up, pulling Suho with him, smiling widely, “Busan,” he wiggled his eyebrows.

“Baby, I am not in any shape to drive that far right now. As much as I wanted to take you there, I have just finished another 20 hours day yesterday, and the day before,” Suho groaned into Tao’s shoulder.

“But we could take a train!!” Tao jumped in excitement, sending Suho sitting straight up again, “And we could get snacks to eat in the train as well!”

Suho laughed, “Do you really want to go there, or do you just want to eat?”

“Both!! I want to go to the beach and eat seafood! A lot of seafood!!”

Suho shook his head, smiling, “Okay, give me half an hour to get ready, and we’ll go. Do you want everyone else to come to?”

“Yes!”

“Alright, I’ll get everyone else, and you go wake Baekhyun up, okay?”

Tao nodded happily, “Yeay! Thank you, hyung!” he leaped into Suho’s arms and nuzzled there for a moment.

Suho cradled Tao in his arms lovingly as they laughed together, before pushing the younger slightly, “Wake Baekhyun up, he’s going to be cranky,” he said, pressing a kiss on Tao’s forehead, “Go,” he tapped Tao’s back gently.

Tao flashed a smile towards Suho as he nodded before practically jumped off Suho’s bed, and hopped into Baekhyun’s room.

Baekhyun’s room was very dimmed. He had closed his blinds and put a layer of bed sheet over it, effectively blocking the sunlight from seeping in. He slept with his blanket pulled all the way over his head, making him looked like a giant potato under it. Tao lifted one of his blanket corners and grinned.

“Baek hyuuung,” he called as he slipped into the blanket, hugging Baekhyun, “Wake uuuuuppppp,”

Baekhyun didn’t even open his eyes as he groaned.

“Baek hyuuung.. Wake uuuup, lets play…” Tao said, shaking the elder’s body.

Baekhyun groaned again. Tao pierced his eyes, getting up from the bed and yanked the blanket away, allowing him to kick Baekhyun awake.

Another groan was heard, “Zitaooooo~ I am dead tired please can we just spend today sleeping?” Baekhyun begged, holding on to his bolster tightly.

Tao got a hold of Baekhyun’s right leg and lifted it, “No! I want to go play, with you and Suho hyung and everybody else!”

Baekhyun groaned again, trying to reach for his blanket. Tao got it first and threw it on the floor.

“Zitaooo~ It’s still dark… I want to sleep…”

The said boy tugged on the elder’s leg harder, yanking him from his previous position on the bed, “No! It’s morning already, hyung! Lets go plaaaaaay! The sun was so bright and it’s a beautiful day and it’s Saturday and God knows when Suho hyung get to have the whole weekend off again this is a super good time to plaaaaaaay~~!”

“Kim Joonmyeon knock some sense into this boy’s stubborn head please I just want to sleep!!” Baekhyun screamed, and Suho came in with toothbrush in his mouth.

“You know you would have to get out of the bed eventually, why not now?” he said, brushing his teeth.

Baekhyun sat on his bed, looking agitated, “Because I had just moved in for crying out loud! I am so sleepy!”

“But hyung…” Tao pouted towards the cranky diva, and Suho grinned knowing what he’s trying to do.

The second eldest pointed at their maknae, eyes wide full of warning, “Huang Zitao don’t you even dare—“

“Bbuing bbuing?”

The sun was shining high and bright, and there was no better way to spend it than to hang out with your friends; precisely what Zitao was doing.

“SEAAAAAAAA!!!” Kai exclaimed as he burst out from the van, welcoming the sea wind with opened hands.

“BEACH! SEA! SUN! SAND! OH MY BUDDHA!” Tao pushed his door open and ran after Kai, pulling his shoes off in the process.

“YAH YOU RASCALS COME BACK HERE DON’T LEAVE ME!!” Chanyeol jumped out as well, calling Kai and Tao repeatedly as he trailed them.

Baekhyun popped his head out, slowly gathering his soul as he pulled his sunglasses above his head, “So bright,” he mumbled, still feeling tired even after sleeping their whole way to Haeundae beach, “Too bright,”

“Cheer up, party pooper,” Luhan tapped Baekhyun’s shoulder, “Wherever we’re sleeping tonight, you get the bed. Sleep well tonight, play hard today,”

Baekhyun rolled his eye, “I ain’t sharing bed with them,” he squinted his eyes towards the youngest three who were now kicking each other, “I would end up on the floor in the middle of the night,”

“Ooh! Speaking of which, what should we eat tonight? Beach is identical with seafood barbecue but I am not cooking. My arms were still sore from lifting all those boxes,” D.O got out of the van too, putting his cap on.

“We could just find a seafood restaurant. I bet they cook good!” Suho smiled, stretching his body, “Hoah this is so much fresh air compared to the hospital. I could get used to this,”

“I wouldn’t,” Baekhyun scowled, “This is too bright for me,”

Luhan laughed, “Lets just get some beer, you’ll feel better,” he gestured towards a shop nearby.

Four of them bought some beer and other treats before catching up with Kai, Tao and Chanyeol. They were already wet and partly covered in sand, their shoes neglected just at the shore.

“Tao! Come here! Have some water!” Suho called, waving a plastic bag. Tao turned, waving at Suho before dragging Chanyeol and Kai towards the others. They gathered under a large umbrella, opening the drinks one by one.

“Ah~ beer makes everything better,” Baekhyun said, drinking half of the can in one go.

“Told you,” Luhan grinned, taking a bite of the sausage, “So, where are we staying?”

“I told Mom about going this morning and she said she reserved a place at that beachside hotel. She got us the big room so everyone would fit,” Tao said, drinking orange juice, “Oh! Should we eat out tonight?” he asked.

“We could. That hotel has a good restaurant too, we could eat there as well,” Suho replied, offering chips to Tao who took the container gratefully, soon busy eating it with Chanyeol.

“You know what we should do?” Kai turned in great excitement, “Freaking fireworks!”

D.O perked up, “The small ones that has a lot of sparks, not the noisy ones?”

“Yeah, what do you think?”

“It’s a good idea! And watermelons too!” Tao butted in, grinning through mouthful of chips. Suho and Luhan chuckled, both ruffled Tao’s hair while Baekhyun wiped Tao and Chanyeol’s mouth with a tissue he found in his bag.

“Why do I feel like I would end up cooking anyway?” D.O side eyed his friends.

“Hahaha! But D.O hyung, your cooking was really good, I swear,” Chanyeol made a cross above his chest, earning a laugh from the other.

“Fine, just don’t make me go to the market as well,”

“I could go,” Luhan said, “What do you guys want to eat?”

“SQUID!” Kai exclaimed.

“I want lobster, ge! Prawns! Those giant ones!” Tao waved, crashing his body to Luhan’s, earning a surprised yelp from the elder, “And the clams and the octopus!”

“FISH! GIANT FISHES!” Chanyeol threw his fists into the air, “And the seafood soup! And sashimi! And all stir fries!”

“I can eat anything, really, as long as these guys wants them,” Baekhyun flicked a flock of his hair, then reached for the sunblock bottle, “And as long as Chanyeol would help me get rid or the fish bones. Would you, Channie?”

“Of course, Baekkie!” Chanyeol exclaimed, letting Baekhyun reward him with a kiss on his cheek before turning towards the eldest, “And I could go with you, hyung,” Chanyeol said laughing, “Don’t want you to fall asleep on the way,”

“Haha! Thank you,” Luhan said towards the giant while squeezing Tao who was still lying on top of him, refusing to sit on his own, “Then we should go and check into the hotel, and after you wash all that sand off of you we could go get the seafood,”

“And don’t forget the fireworks!” D.O reminded, “Get the sparks kind, so we wouldn’t create too much noise,”

“Can we lay here first and enjoy the sun, then we go get ourselves checked in?” Tao said, turning to face the sky, his head on Luhan’s chest, “It’s too pretty!”

“Okay,” Suho smiled, lying next to Tao, “It’s actually indeed a beautiful day,”

Kai and D.O did the same next to them, while Baekhyun was still applying sunblock on his and Chanyeol’s skin.

The day was so warm, and they ended up playing at the beach again (after Baekhyun slapped sunblock on all their faces), burying Chanyeol under the piles of sand, pushing Kai into the water, running to all directions before Luhan caught them, all in all, Tao was having a very good time. He laughed and giggled (and choked on sea water) and was very satisfied with his own idea to go to the beach.

When they finally paid attention, they noticed that the sun was not as high anymore, signing it would set soon. Luhan and Chanyeol decided to go to get their seafood right away, while Tao wanted to stroll along the beach before it gets too dark. The rest of them agreed to check them in and bring their luggage, and all of them would meet in the hotel.

After waving to his friends, Tao took his shoes in his hand and started to walk along the shore. He would sometimes skip towards the water and ran back, ahead of the waves, laughing and enjoying his time. He found some shell and holes in the sand, and crouched down to see baby crabs scurrying their way away from the water.

He didn’t realize how far he had walked, nor how long, but then he started to feel water splashes on his face. Tao thought the tide was rising, and thus the wave splashes were stronger, but instead of finding the shoreline moved, he was greeted by the grey sky, lighting reaching the horizon, and drops of rain.

Tao’s breath started to get heavier and his legs trembled. Not allowing himself to fall, Tao ran away from the sea and towards the land, but he was far from even the nearest resort or building.

The thunder broke in the sky and struggling Tao hid under a thick flock of bush just behind the rocks where the sand began. He felt himself shivered as it started to rain harder and the wave rolled bigger, as if trying to swallow the shore.

The wind was blowing hard; making the air turned cold all of a sudden and Tao scolded himself for not paying attention towards the weather as he walked. The sky turned darker and the sun was already nowhere in sight. It was dark where he was. Tao really wanted to go back to his friends, and just lie anywhere warm instead of being there in the middle of the rain.

Hugging himself, he closed his eyes, trying to block out the roar of thunder and the sound of the rain falling on the rock in front of him, rocking his body back and forth to calm himself as Kris’ expression appeared in his head, on that rainy day when they met the last time.

When he left.

“Woah! Good thing we made it out of the road before the weather got worse!” Chanyeol dropped the seafood bags on the dining table, followed by Luhan.

“I don’t think we could make barbecue outside tonight,” the eldest said, eyeing the window.

“We could do it here, this room has a kitchen,” D.O said, standing up from the couch where he and Kai was watching TV.

“Where’s Baekhyun hyung?” Chanyeol asked.

“In the bedroom I guess, maybe showering,” Kai answered nonchalantly, eyes still glued to the TV.

Chanyeol went into the bedroom, and came out with Baekhyun, who indeed had finished showering. The two of them helped D.O in the kitchen while Luhan sat next to Kai, watching the show.

“Where’s—“

The bathroom door clicked open, revealing Suho, fresh from the shower. He stared at the rest of his friends one by one, counting in his head for his eyes told him they're missing someone.

 “Where’s Tao?” he asked.

This time Kai turned to Suho, his eyes off of the TV, “He’s not in there with you?” he asked, alert.

Suho shook his head, “He’s not back yet?”

There was a fat silence and the question was left unanswered.

All of their expression turned worried.

“Where— Where would he be?” D.O stuttered, “My baby, do you think he’s okay? Was he able to find shelter?”

Luhan shook his head, “He would, he’s smart, but if there’s a shelter,”

Suho stared at them before throwing his towel off his back, “I am going to look for him,”

“Me too,” Chanyeol and Baekhyun put down the seafood, the latter’s face was paling, really worried about their youngest, “You should stay, Baek. We’ll find him, don’t worry,” he said, pressing a kiss on Baekhyun’s temple, who looked like he was going to faint.

Not again. He couldn’t go through this again.

As if reading the elder’s mind, Chanyeol lifted Baekhyun’s chin and kissed him softly, “We’ll find him. I promise,”

Baekhyun nodded, kissing Chanyeol again before taking a deep breath. Right. Don’t worry until he has to.

“Alright. Us too then,” Luhan said, eyeing Kai who nodded, “D.O, Baek, please stay and continue cooking, he would need warm food when we get back and just in case he returned before us, you guys would be here,”

Suho was already opening the door, shoes on and ready to go. Chanyeol, Luhan, and Kai followed.

They entered the elevator and got to the hotel lobby, walking out fast towards the back exit where the beach was.

A hotel employee was there, blocking their way, “I am sorry sir, I couldn’t let you go out there, the storm was pretty bad,”

“No, I have to,” Suho looked really worried and panicked, “My brother is out there,”

“We could send people to look for him right after the storm dies down, sir,”

“No, I need to go now,” Suho said, going towards the doors again, but was stopped again.

Kai stepped forward and pulled the hotel employee backwards, “Listen here, man, I am not a very patient person to begin with and I don’t understand why you would test me, right now, when my brother is out there,” he pointed his fingers with force to the storm outside the large glass windows, “alone with all that thunder and rain and darkness. Now unlike him, I am not a wushu athlete nor have I learned any martial arts my whole life to equip me to use my stance to hit you in anyway,”

He stepped forward, forcing the frightened employee to step backwards, “Thankfully, unlike my brother, then I don’t have to be respectful towards anyone who test me, and I am more than happy to kick your right here, right now, if you don’t give us four of your torches and let us go out there,” Kai finished, sending the employee scurried away behind the reception desk and returned with four large torches.

Kai distributed it to the others and led the way out. They were immediately soaked and the wind blew their hair to every direction. They walked towards the beach, but there were no signs of Tao, obviously.

Suho shook his head, “Lets split up, right and left,” he stared at his left, which was pitch dark towards the end, “Try to keep your phones dry. Call me when you found him,”

“I am coming with you, hyung” Kai said and turned towards Chanyeol, who nodded.

“I’ll go to the right with Luhan hyung,” Chanyeol said, as he got pulled by Luhan towards the right already.

“We should hurry,” Luhan reminded, and left with Chanyeol.

Suho took a deep breath, “Okay. We should go too,” he said and Kai walked next to him, both highlighting their way and their sides trying to see if Tao was somewhere nearby.

“I think if he was able to hide in any of the resorts he would be able to contact us to pick him up or something. Lets try those dark area over there,” Suho pointed at the gap between two resorts, which was pretty wide.

“Didn’t you think that’s a little too far? Did he walk that far already?” Kai asked Suho, his face contorted trying to see the elder between the splashing rain on their faces.

“He might,” Suho shrugged, “And it makes more sense why he hadn’t contacted us yet, but if you’d like, please stop by the resorts that we just passed and ask if they have seen him while I checked there,”

“Okay,” Kai agreed, “I will call you if I find him,”

“I’ll do the same,” the elder replied and they separate ways.

Suho continued to walk, directing his torch towards the sands, worried if Tao had fainted on the ground. He looked left and right, trying to find a shelter, or something that the youngest would go to in the storm.

“Where are you, Tao?” he mumbled, his eyebrows connected.

He continued to walk until he was where there were big rocks between the land and the sand, and some tall bushes and palm trees. There was an opening between the rocks, sheltered by a big bush, creating the only shelter-like place around the area.

Suho walked closer, and as he reached, pushed the bush away and was met with the sight of Tao, trembling with eyes closed

“Tao!” he exclaimed, hurriedly joined the other on the sand, hugging his shivering body, “Tao, are you okay?”

Tao didn’t answer. His eyes were still closed, both hands on his ears. Suho moved and crouched in front of him, shaking him a little by his cheeks to get his attention, “Baby,”

Tao snapped his eyes open. He was looking for a second until he fixed his eyes on Suho’s. His eyes started to water, and Suho pulled him to his chest tightly, “What were you doing? Why didn’t you go back?”

Tao was heaving, trying to inhale as much oxygen as possible, “I was— I don’t—”

“It’s okay,” Suho said, rubbing his hands on Tao’s back, “I’m here,”

Slowly, Tao lifted his arms and circled it around Suho’s figure; his breathing gradually became calmer.

Suho was right. He’s here.

They walked back together after Suho gave the news to the others that he had found Tao. Kai met them in front of the other resort, both holding Tao on each side to try and warm him up. Chanyeol and Luhan met them in front of their resort and they walked straight in. Luhan returned the torch back to the front desk before going up with the others to their room.

Upon entering their room, D.O and Baekhyun yelled Tao’s name, both looking very relieved.

“Where were you? Oh my goodness you must be very cold,” D.O said, snatching Tao from Kai and Suho’s arms and pulled him towards the bathroom, “Lets get you warm,”

Tao still looked pretty much shaken up, and he let D.O did whatever he wanted. Outside, the others heard the tub being filled and D.O coaxed Tao to get into the warm tub.

Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol and the rest of the soaked search and rescue team members, “Go to the other bathroom and have warm shower, I will warm up everything so we could all eat after you finished,”

Chanyeol smiled and pressed a kiss on Baekhyun’s lips, leaving the elder smiling fondly, “Thanks, Baek,”

Chanyeol and Kai immediately went into the bathroom, leaving Suho, Luhan, and Baekhyun in the living room. Suho still looked very much worried and Luhan looked really sleppy and tired.

“Come to the kitchen, I’ll make you hot tea,” Baekhyun smiled, already calm because everyone was safe and sound in the room, pulling Luhan and Suho towards the kitchen. He turned the stove on for the soup pot and the kettle, and as soon as the water boiled, made three cups of tea.

Suho and Luhand sipped their tea and sighed.

“Yeah, that’s the stuff,” Luhan said, taking another sip. Suho didn’t say anything but his expression looked drastically calmer, making Baekhyun smiled.

“Dinner would be ready in a minute. I hope you’re hungry,”

“Starviiiiing!!” Chanyeol and Kai appeared again, fresh and looking like they could devour the seafood soup along with the pot. Luhan laughed and excused himself for shower. Baekhyun made Chanyeol and Kai a cup of tea too, while Suho stood and checked on Tao.

Tao was done with bath, sitting on the bed as D.O dried his hair. There were no more tear stain on his face, but he his eyes looked hollow, just like when Suho found him that day.

“Suho hyung, go take a shower now,” D.O said, “I put fresh towels next to the toothbrushes,”

Suho took in the sight of the younger before nodding and went to the bathroom to take a shower. When he finished, Tao was still there with D.O.

“D.O-yah, would you check if the food was ready?” he asked.

D.O nodded, “I’ll see you in a minute, okay?” he said to Tao, his cheek before went out of the room.

Suho approached Tao and kneeled in front of the boy, “Hey,” he said softly, “Are you all right?”

Tao still hasn’t talked, his eyes empty and was just looking at the floor.

“Baby,” Suho reached and lifted Tao’s chin, forcing him to look at him in the eye, “Hey,”

Tao’s eyes started to focus and he stared at Suho, “Hyung,”

“Hey,” Suho smiled, “How are you feeling?”

The question was partly rhetorical. Suho knew exactly why Tao was acting the way he did in the rain and that he was far from feeling okay. But he needed to know if Tao had felt even slightly more comfortable and calm, contrary to the body language he had given him when he found him under the bush earlier.

Tao didn’t reply, but leaned his head on Suho’s shoulder. The elder sighed, nuzzling his face into Tao’s fruity hair, “I am glad you’re here,”

He heard Tao took a deep breath before answering, “Me too,”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Tao sighed, “Apart from the obvious?”

Suho held Tao’s shoulders and pushed him backwards, “Him?”

Tao bit his lip. He felt like an , betraying his friends and brothers who had been trying to help him stand back up on his own feet by remembering Kris. But it’s not like he did it on purpose. He had visited psychologist, five sessions, as prescribed by Kyuhyun, and he knew exactly what he had to do to cope and deal with his thoughts. Everyone had been very supportive and more than patient towards him.

He pursed his lips. Then it would be himself. He had to try harder.

“It’s hard,”

“I know baby,” Suho stared at him softly, eyes full of understanding, rubbing Tao’s cheek softly, “It’s okay to remember. What was not okay is to let it get to you. I understand that you have bad memories with rain. But rain is something that comes from nature, and you can’t stop it from falling. It would be very hard to keep on running from something so natural, right?”

The elder fixed Tao’s hair, pushing it back repeatedly, “Rather than tire yourself trying to run from it, to be scared of it, why don’t you try to embrace it? Rain was beautiful, you know?”

“Do you remember that it was raining on the day I met you too?” Suho smiled, looking into Tao’s eyes.

Tao’s eyes widened, his face looked like he was having an epiphany.

“That’s right, hyung,” he said, blinking repeatedly, looking very much adorable.

As much as Suho wanted to point out how the younger forgot about the day they met, the look he was giving was enough for the elder to forgive him. He was also relieved that at least Tao gave sign that now would try to relate rain with something good, something happy. Or weird, Suho thought as he remembered the day they met.

“You know, since that day, for me rain had always been beautiful,” Suho smiled cheekily as he kissed Tao’s forehead.

Tao, on the other hand, realized Suho was right. He just needed to try and relate things he didn’t really like with things that he does. Tao had almost forgotten the day he met Suho and true, it was raining too that day and that was actually why they met. He remembered how excited he was back then. And he could easily feel that way again.

It was actually hard, not being able to view and appreciate rain as he used to, to have his body weaken in a snap of a finger for something as trivial as rain. The effect he had to go through each time, now just seemed to be preposterous; completely absurd. He could choose to not to have to experience that anymore, and he’s going to do that.

Tao stared back at Suho, before pouting, making Suho chuckled again.

“Joonmyeonnie hyung, Joonie Myeonnie hyungie, I love you,” Tao mumbled as he leaned into Suho’s neck, nuzzling his nose and sniffing the elder’s fresh soapy scent, “To the moon and back, and again,”

Suho could feel Tao’s breath was a little warmer than usual on his neck, and he knew he’s on the verge of having a fever, if the way of him being extra clingy was no indication.

“I love you too, Panda bear,” Suho circled his arms around Tao and pulled him close, playing with his hair.

“Thank you for finding me again, hyung,”

“You’re welcome, baby,”

“And thank you for letting me disturb your ramen making moment back then,”

Suho chuckled as he relived the memory in his head.

Both of them stayed still in the position for a minute. Tao concentrating on breathing, enjoying how Suho played with his hair. He liked the way both of them became very calm, how both of them could easily comfort each other with each other presence.

How he, apart from having known the elder for a long time, felt distinctively really comfortable with him, like they were connected with some kind of invisible wire or something.

“You feel better?” he heard the elder asked.

“I feel happy. I have hyung,” he mumbled against Suho’s neck, “But I also feel tired,”

Suho ruffled his hair and reached for Tao’s jacket behind him, “You must be. Come here; wear this so you won’t get cold. You don’t want to get fever on your vacation, right?”

Tao nodded, sitting up straight so Suho could pull the jacket over his head. When Suho was sure that Tao was warm, he tugged his hand and pulled him towards the door, “Lets eat. You’ll feel less tired after you do,”

Tao stood, intertwining his fingers with the elder’s and trailed behind him out of the room.

The dining table was full of food. Somehow D.O managed to find a table grill, and he was putting clams and prawns on it, glazing them with butter and other seasonings. Chanyeol and Kai were sitting right in front of the grill, looking expectant as Baekhyun scooped the seafood soup and the rice into the stacked bowls.

Noticing that Tao was standing behind them, Chanyeol and Kai scooted over so he could sit between them, while Suho circled the table to help D.O with the rest of the seafood. Luhan was staring at the sweet and sour fish D.O had concocted earlier and Tao could swear he saw drool threatening to escape his lips.

Tao giggled. Kai and Chanyeol turned to him before following his gaze to the eldest. Everyone burst out laughing, while Luhan looked flustered before letting Baekhyun scooped some fish into his plate.

“Lets eat,” D.O said, smiling, glad that Tao apparently had feel better.

Everyone picked up their eating utensils and start to eat. Surprisingly, despite feeling tired a minute before, Tao felt very energized during dinner, fighting with Kai for the last prawn and snatched a crab claw from Chanyeol’s plate (which, in return, he had to lose his clam and squid on a stick). The seven of them managed to eat everything D.O and Baekhyun had made (not much of a surprise, really), and not being able to move very far from the dining table, they piled up in the living room; Tao’s head was leaning on Suho’s chest, Kai’s head was on his thigh, while Luhan splayed under the coffee table somehow. D.O and Baekhyun curled up on one corner of the couch and Chanyeol occupied a spot on the carpet next to Luhan. The TV was playing a movie none of them paid attention to. They were just chatting about everything they could think of (Luhan repeatedly telling no one that the dinner was his seafood consumption for a year and he won’t be eating anymore seafood until next summer, but it was proven a complete nonsense the next day when he ordered crab stew for lunch), laughing here and there loudly until D.O snorted loudly, cracking everyone else up.

The atmosphere was warm and cozy, contrast from what he was feeling hours ago in the storm. Tao thought about how he had come to this point of his life, from that place when he was hating himself and feeling really unworthy for everyone around him that he even hurt himself. He had come a long way, and he really had to give credit to these people around him right now, for being very amazing, with everything that had happened.

Tao was grateful that tonight, his brothers were there to there to catch him again.

At one point, everyone started to fell asleep, even Suho. As he turned to the elder, watching his chest rise and fall in rhyme with his steady breaths, Tao felt especially grateful towards him. He tightened his hug around the elder’s stomach, glancing to everyone in the room before closing his eyes as well.

If anything, this short vacation had gave him a lesson, that his brothers would be there no matter what, and gave him a revelation to do the same to them.

He promised he would never take them for granted.

And he never did.

your reward for being very patient with me. thank you, thank you!

oh the OT7 fluff. ooooooh~