It was a rough week for Tao after he woke up. Like the doctor's had said, he experienced short term memory loss, and almost every day his friends were having to introduce themselves all over again. But slowly, he started to sustain his memories, calling his friends by name as they came to visit him.

Each day that Kris went in was like a knife to his heart. Having to tell Tao who he was, going through the pain of seeing his face contort in confusion every time he walked through the door; it was almost to much for him to bare. But now that Tao had been fully awake for more than two weeks, and he was finally retaining his memory.

The doctors had agreed for him to be released, allowing him to go home with Kris. It had been a little nerve racking at first to discuss Tao leaving the safety of the hospital and go back into the world, but his friends and family urged him to try, reminding him that they would always be there for him, no matter what happened.

"You ready to go?" Kris asked, walking into the room. He had brought a change of clothes for Tao earlier, and decided to wait out in the hallway for the other to change, even though he'd seen the other on more than one occasion.

Tao nodded, throwing the hospital gown on the bed. "Yeah, I'm as ready as I'll ever be." He slowly walked to Kris. The older held his hand out, waiting for Tao to take it. He understood that seeing the world for the first time was a scary thing, and to Tao it might be even more so. The doctors had already warned him ahead of time that he needed to be prepared for the worst.

Tao could get overwhelmed and have a panic attack, he could cower away, retracting into a state where he never want to leave his house. Kris had made himself ready, but hoped that everything would be alright.

"Now, just remember, I'll be right here with you, the walk to the car isn't so bad and once we're inside, you'll be safe and sound, alright?" Tao nodded, clinging to Kris' arm with his other hand, clutching it like his life depended on it. They began their short journey to the car, each step causing Tao to freak out internally more than the first. "The sun is beautiful today, you'll like it." Kris said, trying to calm the other as much as he could.

Tao nodded, observing the hospital walls as he walked. This place was a lot bigger than he'd imagined, its long never ending hallways that seemed to want to swallow him up if he let go of Kris. "You love the sunrise and sunset." Kris said randomly, distracting Tao from his thoughts. Tao looked up at him, gripping his hand tighter.

"I want to see that again." He said as they neared the door. Kris waved goodbye to the front desk workers who he'd seen almost every day when he came to visit Tao, and exited the building.

The outside world was much different than the inside of the hospital. Tao let a small gasp leave his lips as he observed all the bright vibrant colors, the different sounds and smells he heard, and the sun falling gently on his skin as he an Kris walked to their car. "This is beautiful." Tao said, turning his head left and right. He couldn't seem to get enough of everything around him, and he wanted to see more.

Kris smiled, seeing how happy the younger was. He was glad to know that Tao wasn't afraid anymore. If anything, Tao seemed excited to be out and Kris was more than ecstatic to know that everything would be alright.

~*~

The ride home was good, Tao had his face pressed up against the window, watching things as they passed by on their way home. He would ask questions every five mites about what things were, how they got there, where they came from; Kris didn't know how to process an overly excited Tao.

The Tao he knew, was normally very quiet, only speaking when spoken to until they were in private. This Tao was adorably innocent, and didn't know a thing about the world.

"Alright, we're here." Kris said, parking the car in their driveway. Tao sat patiently waiting  for Kris to come open his door for him, since he didn't know how to open it on his own. After he was out of the car, Kris took his hand, leading him into the house. "Nothing's changed," Kris began, taking out his keys. "Everything is the exact same way you left it, I made sure that I didn't touch anything." Tao smiled softly, nodding as Kris pushed the door open.

"Wow." Tao spoke. The house wasn't huge, and it wasn't small either. It was just big enough for the two of them. Tao could tell that Kris had put a lot of thought into it when he'd purchased the home. The living room and dinning room were connected, with another hallway that lead to the stairs. He wanted to go up and look around, but he decided to stay down with Kris for a while.

"Do you want something to eat?" Kris asked, shutting the door and locking it. Tao looked back at him and nodded once. "Sure, I didn't eat yet." he said. Kris walked down the hallway to the kitchen, gesturing for Tao to follow him.

He began walking behind the older, but got sidetracked at the pictures that hung along the wall. There were many pictures of he and Kris, but one stood out among the rest.

Tao and Kris were standing on the edge of a beach, looking out at the distant sky. Then there was another picture in the same frame, this one showed Kris down on his knee holding up a box to Tao. The last picture in the frame was of he and Kris kissing, Kris' large arms holding Tao close to him as he poured out his love into that one kiss.

"Tao, where are you?" Kris asked walking into the hallway where Tao stood. He saw what picture Tao was looking at and walked over to him. "Where's my ring?" Tao asked, still staring at the picture. Kris was taken back a bit by Tao's question. "It's upstairs, I brought it home when you had the accident." Tao nodded, turning his head to face Kris.

They shared a moment of silence, just staring into each other's eyes. Kris felt a yearning in his heart just to kiss him again. It'd been so long since he'd last kissed Tao, and it was becoming hard to be around the younger. Kris just wrapped his arms around the younger, pulling him into his arms.

"I'll go get it for you." He went to pull away, but Tao's arms weaved around his middle, refusing to let go. "Tao, let me go." The younger shook his head against Kris chest. "I don't want to." He mumbled, burying his face in Kris' shirt. The older sighed, propping his chin on Tao's head. "You don't understand, I want nothing more than to kiss you right now, and I'm having a hard time restraining myself." Tao's head moved, causing Kris to look down at him.

"Then do it." He said, staring into Kris' dark brown eyes. The were filled with hurt and longing, and Tao wanted to make it disappear. "I'm here, and I want to know what it'll be like to kiss my husband." His hands slid up Kris' chest, going to his face, gently cupping his cheeks. "I'm sorry that I can't remember." Tears began to pool in his eyes.

"I wish I could remember. I wish I knew all the wonderful things you did for me, all the fights we had, all of our crazy adventures. I want to know about our high school days. I-I want to know what it's like to k-kiss you, and h-hold you, and make l-love to y-you." By the time Tao was done speaking, tears were pouring down his face.

Kris began to cry as well, seeing Tao was in pain. He knew this was just as hard as Tao as it was on him, possibly even more so. He reached his hands up cupping Tao's face as well, gently rubbing his fingers over Tao's crying cheeks. "Don't cry, Panda." He cooed, wiping away his tears. His thumb grazed Tao's trembling lips.

If he wanted it, the Kris would give it to him. He leaned in, pressing his lips firmly to Tao's, his hands sliding down and around the younger's back. Tao's breath caught as Kris deepened the kiss, his knees buckled slightly at the feeling of being in Kris' arms, calming him more than ever. He wanted Kris to hold him and never let him go.

His tears stopped as he hesitantly kissed back against the older's lips. When Kris pulled away, his saw that Tao had calmed down, leaning his head forward to rest against Kris' chest. "Do you want me to go get your ring?" He asked, running his hands up and down Tao's spin. The younger nodded, pressing Kris' body closer to him. Not only did he want his ring, he wanted Kris.

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[A/N:]

WOW. It has been a while since I last wrote on this story....sorry about that....Family issues came up, and got crazy.

Hopefully it won't be to long next time!

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