When Luhan finally finds the perfect time to interrogate Kris, he's already about to leave the school. After watching Kris and Tao act like best friends at lunch, as if they've known each other for months at least, Luhan knew there was something up between the two of them. Luhan isn't going to intefere or anything of the likes, but he's very curious to know why Kris suddenly cares so much about Tao.

Yixing trails by Luhan's side. Yixing, like Luhan, is curious about his other best friend's mood change. He doesn't dislike it, but he wants to see Kris' smile more and he wants to know how he can see it more often. What no one realizes is that Yixing has quietly worked in the background, much like Luhan, but he makes it less obvious.

The two boys want to know what's going on between Tao and their best friend, and if they had to be nosy, then they gotta do what they gotta do. Besides, what are best friends for anyway?

"Kris!" Luhan spots him first and they both wave at him. Kris gives a curt wave back and casually walks towards them.

"Hey guys." Kris has no idea what's in store for him. But he should already know better because the Layhan duo always have something up their sleeves.

"So what's up with you and Tao?" Luhan asks excitedly. Straight-forward with no mucking around before hand. Lay gives a small smile at his best friend's attitude.

"Um...what?" Kris lets out a nervous chuckle with his cheeks stained with pink. Like normal, his hand goes back to rub his neck and he looks at the boys with innocent eyes. Kris isn't sure exactly why he's become so nervous hearing Luhan's question. Why is it that he suddenly feels anxious and his heart rate increases as if there's something to hide? In fact, Kris knows that he could tell Luhan and Yixing the truth that him and Tao are childhood best friends. There would be no problem in telling them that. Heck, he could tell them that Tao forgot about him or doesn't recognize him now. Kris trusts his friends a lot, no matter how much he tries to convince himself that he needs to push them away. But something doesn't seem right to Kris. There's just something else that he believes he's hiding but even he doesn't know what.

I mean, it's not like I have feelings for him or anything. I don't even think I'm gay. Kris' thoughts suddenly go a bit off track trying to assure himself that he's not gay and that he's not attracted to Tao. He thinks about the hottest girls in the school and even goes as far as to remember his ex-girlfriends. He's not a homophobe or anything of the sorts, but he's simply taking extra-precautions to reassure himself that Tao is only his friend...right? That flutter he gets whenever he sees Tao is just a coincidence, as is his blush whenever Tao smiles...and the warmth that spreads through his heart when he sees Tao happy.

Aish, stop it Wu Yifan.

"Ne, are you even listening?" Luhan snaps his fingers in front of Kris' face. After not being responsive for at least thirty seconds, Luhan already knows that Kris is deep in thinking.

"Um, yeah...what was that?" Luhan rolls his eyes and Yixing chuckles in response.

"We asked if there's something going on between you and Tao." This time Lay decides he doesn't want to be quiet anymore.

"I-I'm not even gay." Kris answers without any conviction. Luhan decides that he enjoys watching this stuttering side of Kris. It's different and rather amusing but adorable nonetheless.

"Seeing as that's the first thing that pops into your mind, I'm guessing that you're lying to us." Luhan raises an eyebrow.

"Actually, I could've meant anything by 'what's going on'. Even if I meant in terms of friendship." Yixing follows up Luhan's argument. Kris frowns, caught pretty much red-handed.

"Aish, fine. I'll tell you."

...

When Tao gets home, he's glad to find the house empty. His mother is always out working so he knows she's never home, but his stepdad is usually within the vicinity. He must be out drinking or something.

Tao walks up to his room and gets to work on his homework. Though he does his best to concentrate and actually accomplish things, his mind rebelliously skids off the rails and thinks about a certain blonde haired boy. It's been pretty much all Tao could focus on. Kris is becoming a bit of a mystery to Tao. Well, not a mystery, but somewhat of a puzzle. All the pieces are there staring blankly back at Tao, but he doesn't want to put them together.

Tao knows. Deep down, he knows that this Kris is his gege. But there are so many things wrong with the puzzle. He doesn't want to admit that the older boy is the same as his childhood friend because of one particular reason: Tao has a growing crush on the older boy. How wrong it would be for him to like Kris who has been a brotherly figure to him for so long. Things are going so well now, with the two of them gradually building things up from scratch again, Tao kinda enjoys the process of finally letting someone in. He wouldn't want to screw things up by suddenly having feelings for the boy.

Suddenly? Tao asks himself. Not suddenly. Definitely not suddenly. Tao has pretty much loved Kris for the majority of his life, never once forgetting him over all the years. Tao just hasn't realized that love can come in all shapes, forms and meanings. Tao is just to scared to decipher whether his love for Kris is as a friend or as something more. Tao sighs. There goes another problem. Should he confront Kris about it? Should he ask him whether he remembers him? Well, of course Kris remembers Tao, but he's still unwilling to question him about it.

Stop thinking about this nonsense, Tao. Get some work done.

That's his number one excuse for pushing him away. It's his go-to excuse for when things get too intense in Tao's mind and he can't handle it. For now, Tao just doesn't even want to think about it. He doesn't even want to admit that Kris is in fact his gege. No, he just pushes everything aside and tries to be productive for once.

A minute passes and though Tao has gotten through two questions from his science class, guess who's edging back into his thought process?

...

"Are you kidding me, Kris?!" Luhan shrieks once Kris has finished his short tale. Kris didn't think that telling his friends about his history with Tao would do much damage. Boy, was he wrong. His eardrums scream violently in protest because of Luhan's sudden outburst. "How can you not have confronted him about it yet?!" Luhan continues to run his mouth and exclaim right in Kris' face.

"Kris, I think Luhan's right, you should probably talk to him about it." The calm Yixing interrupts Luhan's shouting.

"Of course I'm right! How can this idiot just let all of this pass him by?" Luhan motions at the so called 'idiot' who is beginning to regret his decision by telling them.

"I've tried ok? I just-" Kris cuts himself short, saving his breath. I just don't want to get more hurt than I already have. "Believe me, I've tried." Kris leaves it at that, and Luhan is finally quiet, secretly understanding what's going on inside of Kris' mind.

"So what are you gonna do then?" Luhan asks gently this time.

"Things are fine the way they are right now." Which is bull, considering the fact that Kris needs to remember his ex-girlfriends to convince himself he's not attracted to Tao at all. "But if the need arises, I'm going to his house tomorrow to tutor him in English, so if I feel like I need to, I'll confront him about it then." Kris says with confidence.

There's a second of silence before Luhan dramatically trips over; spluttering. Yixing catches him just in time before he hits the floor. Kris just stands there with his eyes widened, asking himself exactly what just happened. When Luhan regains his composure, Lay still does not unloop his arm from Luhan's 'just in case he falls over again'.

"You're already going to his house?! It's been not only a day since you two became close again!"

"Once best friends, always best friends." Lay shrugs and pats Luhan's arm. Kris just stands there rubbing his neck.

"I guess so."

11 years earlier...

Kris goes to visit his best friend for a playdate but when he makes his way onto their porch, all he can hear is screaming and shouting from the inside. Just words of abuse being hurtled towards one another from voices that Kris knows all too well. He runs around the front of the house and jumps their fence to get into their backyard. Then he scales the tree that he knows makes it right to Tao's window. He wastes no time on anything else, mind only set about how sad Tao must feel at the moment. Kris knows that Tao's parents argue whenever they're around each other but it has never been this bad before.

Tao sits in his room, covering his ears. Downstairs, his mom and his dad are arguing again. He justs wants to drown them out but he can't. Their shouts are all he can hear even from upstairs.

There's a tap on his window. Tao turns around with puffy red eyes and takes one look at his window before shooting up and unlocking it.

Once he's safely inside the room, Kris looks at his best friend with pity. Tao's eyes are swollen from crying and he keeps sniffling. Kris doesn't say a word, unable to find a single sentence or phrase that is even slightly adequate. Instead, he just wraps the boy in a solid and comforting hug, letting Tao's tears soak his shirt.

...

Divorce. Tao has only a faint idea about what it means at the time. He's still very young and can barely understand what's going on.

Months easily seem like days, all Tao can notice is that they keep 'going to court', his dad doesn't come home anymore and his mom seems so distant. It's how his mom is becoming that scares Tao the most. She's always so tired and constantly looks upset as if she's always on the verge of crying. Kris comes around as much as he can to comfort Tao. He knows exactly what's happening, but isn't sure whether to indulge the information to the small boy whenever he inquires about it. 

One day, Kris doesn't come over so Tao is left in only the company of his mother. It's been a month since his dad has moved out, but Tao just thinks that his dad is just taking a small holiday.

"Mommy, why don't you and dad talk anymore?" Tao asks innocently. His mom visibly freezes. She knew that this was coming but nothing could prepare her for this.

"We do talk, sweetie, it's just that..." Tao's mom doesn't know how to continue. How can she explain that she's at her breaking point and she can't take it anymore?

"Is it because you don't love daddy anymore?" That's all it takes. His mom crumbles to the floor, sobbing and weeping and tearing at her hair. Tao becomes distressed at the sight and quickly moves to hug his mother.

"I'm sorry, Mommy! I didn't mean to make you cry!" She tries so hard to stop crying but a month's worth of tears is just pouring out and she can't stop it anymore.

"It's not your fault, Baby." She manages to choke out, horrified that Tao thinks this is his fault. She pulls him closer to her and she finally asks him a question that she's been pondering for so long now. Through all the stress and depression that's been wreaking havoc on her mind, she thinks of only one solution. 

"Would you move away with me, Taozi?" If Tao had been in his right mind, he would have easily answered with no. He would have refused the mere idea of leaving because that would mean leaving his Kris gege behind. But at the moment, all Tao can think about is his mom's tears and the fact that she's so unhappy. All he really wants is for it to stop.

"Okay, Mommy." And that's all it takes.

...

Two weeks later, they're all packed and ready to go. Boxes piled on top of boxes being stacked into trucks ready to be flown out. Tao's mom can't even be in that house anymore. It has too many memories and too many emotions hidden within it that it's suffocating to even be inside. So when they're on somewhat ok terms, she calls her ex-husband to ask if he wants the house. For the same reasons as her, he refuses and gives her his consent about her idea to sell it.

Perhaps the most heart-breaking moment of the whole situation is not the separation of two unpassionate people deciding they've had enough of each other, but the separation of two boys who couldn't live without each other. Tao feels guilty for saying yes to his mother about moving. If there's any decision he'll regret for his entire life, it's this one. But he can't put up with his mother's sadness anymore, it's just too much for someone as small as him to handle.

There's an hour before Tao's flight to a new country. Is it a new country? Tao isn't sure, he doesn't really know where they're heading because he's too distressed to care.

"You'll still remember your gege right? Even if you're miles away?" Kris shoves his hands in his pockets, barely even able to look Tao in the eyes. He promises himself that he won't cry because he's too old to be crying and he knows Tao will breakdown if Kris does. So for both of their sakes, he keeps a small smile, trying to make the moment not as bitter-sweet as it already is.

"I'll never ever forget my gege." Tao hugs Kris tightly and Kris stands there frozen to his spot. It's at this point that he realizes exactly how much the little boy means to him. Exactly how lost he's going to be when Tao leaves. Exactly how lonely he's going to be without his company. Kris sniffles and a single tear falls from his eyes. Tao pulls away upon feeling a tear land on his shoulder. He starts to cry as well cursing everything for splitting the two of them apart.

"No, please don't cry! See? I'm not crying!" Kris' attempt to grin is an absolute failure, and his expression ends up becoming a grimace. It makes Tao cry even harder. Kris frowns and begins to tear up again. He embraces the younger boy and they both cry together. They don't know how they're going to survive without one another. They need each other just as much as they need air.

"You'll come find me right, gege? You promised me." Tao sobs into Kris' chest and the older boy lets out a harsh whimper. This is breaking his heart more than it should be.

"Of course, Tao. When have I ever broken a promise to you?" Kris tries to stop crying but it's all in vain when he feels the small boy sob even harder. "We'll see each other again, this isn't the end. I promise." Kris makes yet another promise that he knows he can't keep. But he knows that these promises are going to keep Tao going for a while, and that's enough to convince him to lie.

"Pinkie promise me that you'll come get me. Pinkie promise that you'll be there for me." Tao pulls away harshly and stares at Kris with blazing eyes. Kris sticks out his pinkie and lets a tear slide down his face onto their hands.

"I'll find you, Tao. One day. Just give me time." Promises aren't meant to be broken. Kris knows this. But what else could he do in this situation? The two boys hug again and they're inseparable for a moment longer until Tao's mom calls and they're forced apart. Kris has to pull back first because he knows he has to be the strong one for the both of them. But when Tao waves goodbye and they leave in their car with Tao facing the rear window until Kris is just a dot in the scenery, Kris doesn't think he can be strong anymore.

He crumbles right there in front of the house. That one house that Kris actually feels at home at because of that one person that he actually cares about. He cries and cries and cries until his throat is sore and their old porch is soaked with his tears.

The tears never run dry and his heart never heals. Kris promises to himself that he'll never get so close to someone else again, because this kind of pain is just too hard for him to bear.

So there he goes, walking solemnly back to his own house feeling more empty and more alone then he ever has before, thinking only about Tao and how he cried as the car drove away.

Why did you have to leave me?