It feels hard against his fingertip, the cool metal against soft skin. The trigger would be so easy to press with just a light movement of his finger. Tao stares down at the weapon he'd been handed earlier that day. He plays with it in his hands, rolling it around pointlessly. He stands up from the bed and paces around the wide room. It was precaution, he tells himself. If anyone had tried to attack Sehun, he'd have a weapon handy. That's all there is to it.

The shopping trip had been fine. In fact, he's still content from the events of the last few hours. Sehun had been ecstatic at the feeling of being outside. Of the fresh air, the sights and smells, the people, and the busy crowds. Sehun had an interesting way of expressing his inner joy. He'd closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, turning to Tao and saying, "It smells like winter."

Tao nodded. But he had no idea what winter smelled like. Sehun seemed to sense that, and started saying, "Like a stinging cold and a certain sharp freshness you don't get with summer or autumn."

Tao had asked him, "What about spring?"

And Sehun said, "Spring has no scent."

He wanted to tell Sehun that flowers were spring, that trees and nature were all scents of spring. That picnics, and chirping birds, that was all spring. But Sehun had this look on his face, like he was about to burst at the seams with his freedom, so Tao followed him into a hat shop. He'd never seen a hat shop before, hadn't known that kind of thing existed until this day. He walked in to see shelves and stands covered in all different kinds of hats -- baseball caps, snapbacks, beanies, the furry kind with animal ears -- and he wondered if this was something Sehun liked. 

He had to keep to Sehun the whole time, helplessly lost within the mazes of the shopping streets. It was a puzzle to him, how Sehun could manage to keep walking around and around without losing his way. The massive amount of people did not at all help with the lack of visual clarity. 

Sehun did end up buying a new pair of sneakers. They were, in Tao's opinion, rather plain looking though. Red with white soles and white laces, and a high top. Tao asked him why he chose these.

"They remind me of the first pair of sneakers I ever had as a kid," Sehun smiled.

Tao had no idea what to say right then because Sehun's smile was the smile of a little boy who just got the perfect present for his birthday, a kid who came home to a huge cake, a kid who just got a bouncy house and all the ice cream he wanted. It was adorable, and adorable didn't even cut it. It was the eye smile and tiniest tipping of the corner of his mouth and the way he lit up in that moment. It was the way Tao couldn't help but stare.

And now he twiddles. With his gun. 

Basically, he'd lost all resolve for his life's purpose. To make matters worse, the phone starts to ring. "Hello?"

"Hello dear." That voice always sounds grossly smug.

"Please don't call me that," Tao lets out an exasperated sigh.

"My my, someone sounds stressed today. I thought the trip went well?"

"It did go well."

"Really?" Tao bites his lip. He knows what's coming. "Because, if it'd gone well, you see, things would look a little...different around here."

"I don't know if this can continue anymore. There are other ways to get that, you know."

"Are you questioning me?" 

Tao has to be cautious with the man. "No. Not at all. I just think there must be some other way than what you've decided upon."

"No, dear, there's no other way. This is the precise, guaranteed route to our success, don't you know? It's not just for me. It's for us, isn't it?" 

"Of course." What else can Tao say? He is a higher up, and Tao is...not. "Of course it is, Yi Fan."

Sehun falls back against the bed on the floor, staring at the box in his hands. The sun is setting outside and his room is getting rather dark, but he's too lazy to stand and turn the lights back on. He's smiling -- unconsciously, one might add -- and he lifts up the cardboard top.

They're pretty typical sneakers, nothing special, but he'd caught Tao looking at them and could he help it? He could only imagine wearing them one day and picturing Tao say, "I remember when we bought those."

The very thought is preposterous, and he has not a single idea why he's thinking it, but it makes him redden. Here he is, daydreaming like a lunatic by himself in his room and acting like an idiot. Even weirder, his heart is thumping like mad, and he really doesn't understand his own body right now. Is he ill again? He puts his hand to his chest and feels the ba-bumps. Maybe he should get checked? Surely he is sick; this hasn't happened to him before. He hopes it isn't bad or contagious, he wouldn't want to get anyone else in the house ill too.

He stares outside. In the midst of his thinking, the day had turned dark and night had wrapped its way around the city. Should I sleep? He asks himself. What an odd day. He's happy, though, a residual reaction to their excursion. He changes into sleepwear and climbs under the covers. The bed feels empty and chilly. He drifts off painfully slowly, to the sound of his own heart beating and the thought of why do I feel so weird?

He wakes up to a tapping at his window. Light clicks against the glass that make him feel more alert than he would like to at -- he glances at the clock -- 2 AM. It's that tree again, and he curses the people who had plotted this section of their garden. This time, he really does stand and walk over to the window to break off that blasted branch. It's not until he's half way to the wanted destination until he freezes for two reasons.

One, he realizes that his window has a screen between the glass. He'd have to actually remove the thing before reaching the branch and snapping its god-awful neck.

Two, there's a thin piece of metal against his neck that could only belong to one thing, and if he took another step forward, it would not be the branch's neck that would be broken first.

The stuff of crime novels, and bad action movies. There's a knife against his neck, how cliché? It's already the second attack and yet the only way he can react is to remain as still as humanly possible. It's not the same person as last time, he can tell. The person, presumably a man, leans towards his ear and whispers, "Don't make a single, in' sound."

It's only then that fear seizes him. His first breath comes out as a sort of loud wheeze and the attacker grabs his arm to keep him in place.

"What the hell do you want?" A strangled choke escapes Sehun.

The attacker buries the knife the tiniest bit deeper into his skin and he knows he's made a mistake. "Didn't I say not to make a sound?

"Look," He snarls. "This is very simple. You're going to die, and we're going to live. And that's all that matters."

Sound travels in a funny way in the manor. You'd think that, with all the elaborate decorations and tapestry and whatnot, noises wouldn't get very far. Voices can echo in long empty hallways, but not go past the doors of a dozen guest bedrooms. Perhaps it's just his training, but Tao is a very light sleeper and he really isn't able to sleep through much. Sometimes it's as if his brain is trained to awaken at man-made sounds. Highly likely. Then again, he's also rather fortunate that Sehun's door has always been a little creaky. 

It makes him absolutely flabbergasted as to why the security is so easy to breach in the house. The parents are never home, the staff stay either in the lower floors or go home in the evening, and all that's left is him, the young master, and the trusted butler. What a desolate place.

Silence is his friend, and he works with it to subtly traverse across the hall to Sehun's room. The second time in two days, and yet everything had been just fine this morning. More than fine, it had been a coffee-filled calm, a relaxing still to a usually uneventful time in the manor. There's a dark figure blocking his view of Sehun, both their backs to him. It's much too easy of a situation, to be honest. He's prepared for this a million times, and yet the sight of someone's hands on Sehun like that makes him more than hesitant. Infinitely many things could go wrong.

But no, he couldn't think like that. He could the person saying, "You're going to die, and we're going to live. And that's all that matters." He runs forward, pulls out the gun, and slams it against the intruder's temple with gritted teeth. He'd put too much force in that one, but his mind had blanked with rage. It is, however, no time to be confused about his own feelings as the attacker's eyes roll back in his head and he falls unconscious to the ground. The knife, which he hadn't noticed until now, had fallen out of his hand with his collapse. 

"Sehun?" The name comes out as a whisper.

Sehun drops to his knees slowly, his hands going up to his neck. Tao takes a hesitant step closer and sees him shaking. "Sehun," he kneels beside him. The boy's eyes are wide open in shock. Tao is once again rendered speechless. What comfort could you give to someone who almost got killed? Sehun looks up at him, his fingers against a red mark on his neck.

"Tao," his voice breaks in the middle. "What...just...." 

That last time, when the man had a gun to his head, he'd felt different. Like he was letting go, and it was time to. Like it was "The End", and he should just accept it. Pulling a trigger hadn't felt like it was truly going to happen. And it hadn't. Because of Tao. But this is different. A knife against his neck? Pain, blood, gore, death. It would've been slow and draining. He would've lied on the ground, the life oozing out of him. 

He can feel himself losing control of his own actions. The corner of his eyes sting and something moist drips out. What? Impossible. He hasn't cried in years. But his head is pounding and his bottom lip is quivering, and Tao's face is blurry behind the wall of tears. He has to bite on it to keep himself from looking like a sorry fool.

He doesn't want to see Game Over anymore. He doesn't think death is a part of life anymore. He wants to breathe, wants to move. Life isn't boring, it isn't bland or grey. Life isn't something he can just lose anymore to this threat. Life is something he should have control over, not anyone else. He tries to stand, but finds he doesn't have an ounce of strength left in him for it. Without a word, Tao lifts him up and carries him to the bed. Sehun hangs onto his sleeve and with his eyes, asks him to stay. Alone? At night? After that? He couldn't possibly.

"Sehun, I'll be back. I promise. You can wait for me, okay?"

He nods and finds a million comforts in those words. You can wait for me. He curls up and closes his eyes. Tao will be back....

When he's sure Sehun's eyes are closed, Tao pulls the attacker up by the collar of his shirt and drags him out of the room. Wu Yi Fan is waiting for him in the hallway, of course. 

"Yi Fan, what the is this?" He practically throws the body at him, but the butler simply catches him by the elbow.

"Why, an intruder? My, my, what happened here?"

"Don't play jokes with me," Tao growls at him. "Look, there's no need to hire these bastards. This is the second, and you know one is enough. This is not a time to be ing around."

"Calm down, dear. I'll get rid of this one shortly." Yi Fan makes a gesture at the limp man in his hand. 

"Don't tell me to calm down. Go quickly." He turns to leave, but is stopped short by a hand on his arm.

"Excuse me?" Yi Fan is smiling, but his eyes are cold. "Remember your place before saying silly things like that." He stares for another second before turning, and leaving.

His place? Right. Disposable and only useful when needed. When he returns to Sehun's room, he closes and locks the door behind him. He feels bad for having left Sehun there whilst getting rid of the trespasser, but he slips under the blankets next to him. There's two feet of space between them; the bed is, as always, much too big for a lone soul.

He places a hand on Sehun's shoulder to see if he's awake. He is, and trembles beneath his fingertips. "Sehun?" He whispers.

Sehun turns to face him. Moonlight shines through the window and Tao can see the boy is still leaking tears. Something in his heart breaks. Sehun is actually crying. "Oh, Sehun," He reaches over and hugs him, feeling protective. "It's fine now." He tries to make his voice low and soothing. "It's all fine now." He can feel him breaking down in his arms. In this moment he is no stronger than the next. 

He'd never realized how vulnerable Sehun could be. The past two medical emergencies he'd had were just a mere glimpse at the expanse of Sehun's weak side. This trembling, teary, frightened boy? He was a wreck, a mess. And what could Tao do? He could only embrace him, unable to find the right sounds to break this dreadful silence.

Sehun curls up even tighter, trying to form a ball with his body. Trying to be as small as can be, maybe small enough to just disappear. He's sick and tired of being himself. He's icy inside, still and inhumane. But Tao is warm. So warm around him, like a life-force holding him alive. He wants to cling to that warmth, have it all around him. Maybe he'll warm up too.

He's delirious. From exhaustion, from having almost been killed, from being touched by this person he'd been pushing away for weeks and weeks. Yes, he must be absolutely crazy because when he looks up to glance at Tao, who happens to be looking at him as well, he looks kind of...good. As in, handsome. Like a prince, come to save him from a horrible nightmare. 

Yes, delirious. That must be it. Because, in this moment, he kind of likes Tao. Adores him, wants him, is thankful for his presence. He wants Tao to keep hugging him forever, keep him safe in his arms so he wouldn't have to ever go outside this room. They could stay here for an eternity and he'd be happy.

He buries his way closer to Tao in the mountain of blankets.

Tao feels the shift. He feels strange. Not like the last time he'd hugged Sehun -- that had been for the sake of comfort. But this is too, right? Yes it is, yet it feels different. He feels hot, burning up next to Sehun. Maybe he's sick, he thinks. His heart is racing too. He keeps watch over him, hoping to see the young master calm down. 

Sehun suddenly feels as if the knife is back, the edge against his neck. His mind had unknowingly went back to that moment. His hand travels up and begins to rub the skin where it'd touched, so furiously that Tao has to reach over and stop him. He takes Sehun's hand in his, his body temperature clearly much icier than Tao's. He the back of it with his thumb, wishing for it to cause a reassuring effect on Sehun. His heart is full of pity for him, and all he wants to do is return him back to the strong, unbreakable person he was before. If he could provide strength for him, that would be wonderful, he thinks.

Both of them drift off like that, with one of Tao's arms around Sehun, their fingers intertwined in the space between them. In his restless sleep, Sehun brings their hands closer to his chest and smiles.

A/N Hi everyone! I did originally want this story to center around them being a "them", so I quickened their /cough/ romantic interest a bit. I hope that's alright and that you all like it :) With that advancement in their relationship, I finally released some of Tao's background info, and also made a bigger leap in the growing percentages that I cleverly placed as chapter titles lol by the way, Showtime has been really ruining the image i've been trying to create for these three OTL

Again, thank you so so soooo much for all the votes! Even though it might not seem like much, it's more than I'd ever expected :* And 80+ subscribers is pretty awesome ;u; thank you, everyone, for reading! I'll try to make this story worth it!