***

Tao didn't remember much of his father's funeral. He didn't remember what he wore or who came. He didn't remember all the soothing, apologetic words that were directed towards him. He did remember however, the sickening smell of the carnations, the sound of his dad crying and the feel of Kris's arms supporting him. He remembered seeing his dad's tear stricken face and feeling sick because his dad was supposed to be strong. Daddy Suho never cried, not even when Yinyin, their cat had died. Tao remembered looking around and finding Mei standing in a corner. Her eyes were glazed over and she looked so empty; so fragile. She had tears dripping down her cheeks she had looked so small in her black dress. He remembered seeing his father's friends standing around the casket, their wet cheeks saying what they couldn't. Tao remembered standing by the casket, Kris's hand attached to his shoulder to keep him from collapsing and his father's face, so peaceful in death. 

"Yixing wasn't just my husband," his dad had choked out, standing in front of everyone that day. "He was also my best friend. He wasn't just the strong man who had my back and helped me throughout my carreer and my life, he was also the five year old boy who stood up for the kindergartner who didn't belong." Tao could feel the tears pressing up against his lids as his dad took another deep, wracking breath. "Yixing had left me once before when we were 7. But we were given a second chance and he was brought back to me and he promised me a forever. There aren't any more second chances," his dad whispered brokenly. 

Tao didn't shed a tear during the funeral, nor did he cry once they returned home, their house filled to the brim with pies and lasagnas from neighbors as comfort food. Tao had scoffed, wondering how containers of food were supposed to make up for the empty space his father had left. How containers of food would make up for the light that used to dance in his dad's eyes or the energy that Mei once possessed. How containers of food were supposed to keep away the prickles of pain in his heart. 

Instead, Tao relied on Kris, his best friend. Kris kept the prickles of pain away with his gummy smile and silly antics. Kris made Tao believe that forever did exist and he wondered sometimes, staring at Kris's perfect side profile, if this is what his parents had felt when they were young.

A few years passed and they both graduated from college, diplomas in their hands and their spirits high. That was when Tao realized he was most definitely in love with his best friend. While Kris had been the one to keep the prickles of pain away from his heart, somehow he had brought his own "prickles". The small prickles of warmth whenever Kris gave Tao a hug or whenever they watched a movie, the warmth of Kris's leg spreading to his own.

"How ironic" Tao mused sitting in the bleachers as the basketball game came to an end. He could clearly see Kris, as his friend was the tallest member of the team, hair pulled back with a bright pink headband, the basketball jersey showing off his toned arms. His parents were childhood friends who had loved each other and now he was hopelessly in love with his best friend too.

Tao growled in frusteration as Kris stumbled into the room, drunk off as his per usual. Kris just grinned at Tao before collapsing onto the couch, stinking of booze and . Tao told him so.

Kris lifted an arm up before proceeding to smell himself, wrinkling his nose just slightly. "I smell like booze," he admitted sheepishly. "But not of ." 

Tao just scowled before throwing a blanket at the taller male and stalking out of the room. Behind him, the couch squeaked and a hand fell on Tao's shoulder, pulling him back into a warm embrace. "Can I sleep with you Taozi?" Kris's warm, husky voice asked, still holding Tao close. Tao grunted in response before pulling away and shuffling into his bedroom, Kris behind him.

In bed, Tao felt soft arms wrapping around his waist and the lingering smell of liquor filled his nostrils. He sighed before leaning back into the embrace, blushing slightly when he realized he was the small spoon. "Why do you drink so much," he murmured sleepily, not really expecting an answer. 

"To get over heartbreak," Kris replied, voice still unsteady, each exhaled breath releasing another pungent fume of booze. 

Tao didn't bother asking, feeling the small prickles of jealousy in his heart instead of the usual warmth he felt around Kris. "What am I going to do with you," he asked instead, wriggling closer towards Kris's warmth.

"You could always love me," Kris replied, voice low and somber, not sounding at all like his drunk self. 

"I do love you," Tao whispered back hoping that in his drunken state, Kris wouldn't remember the next morning. All Kris did was clutch him tighter as if he never wanted to let go. Tao fell asleep in Kris's arms, surrounded by the smell of liquor. 

The next morning, Tao woke up feeling infused with warmth. Wriggling around, he realized there were arms around him and his eyes flew open. Shifting his head to look behind him, he was face to face with Kris. They older boy's eyes were open and he was staring at Tao with a mix of emotions. "Morning," Tao murmured, staring questioningly at the hands still surrounding him. 

"Morning," Kris greeted back, voice warm and husky and soothing. Tao noticed that he no longer reeked of booze. 

"You showered?" Tao murmured sleepily, breathing in the scent of a freshly showered Kris. He smelled like Tao's vanilla shampoo and cherry blossom lotion. 

Kris hummed. "I now know why you smell so nice every single day," he smirked, seeing Tao flustered. 

"Better than smelling like booze," Tao snapped, wriggling out of Kris's arms. "What do you want."

"I was just wondering," Kris mumbled, sitting up and looking up at Tao questioningly. "If you meant what you said last night."

"Last night?" Tao repeated, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What did I say last night? Ohh," he mumbled as the realization hit him. "You were awake?" Kris smiled shyly, standing up so that he was once again towering over Tao.

"I love you too," he said as a way of an answer. 

Now a year later, Tao was finally married to Kris. They stood in the doorway of Tao's old home, where his dad and Mei now lived and his dad was doing his job by telling Kris every single little thing about himself. Not that there was much to tell considering they've known each other since they were still pooping in their pants and found "Pororo" cute. 

"I've always known you two would work out," Tao heard his dad exclaiming in the other room. "Back when you were still little, it was always Kris gege this, Kris hyung that, and Yixing and I used to tell ourselves that if you two didn't end up married, there was something wrong with the world." 

Tao could hear the room suddenly turning silent as everyone processed what his dad had said. Yixing was mentioned around the house yes, because no one could keep the memories of his father hidden away but his dad rarely talked about before. Tao could hear his dad taking a deep breath for he began talking again, voice still lively and energetic but it was strained. 

"You two are just like the two of us were. Best friends turned lovers," Tao heard his dad chuckle slightly. "I'm jealous," the older man admitted quietly and Tao could hear his husband (he didn't squeal internally calling Kris his husband-- okay maybe just a little) murmur something comforting. Tao decided it was time for him to step in.

Tao scowled as Kris continued to chuckle, buckling up the seatbelt beside him. "Its not funny, you piece of ," he snapped revving up the engine before pulling out of the driveway. They had just been visiting his dad because the older man realized that the retired life was anything but exciting. 

"I'm so bored," he would complain, "there's nothing to do for an old man like me." No one mentioned that as an author, he didn't do much either way because it was clear what the underlying problem was. Yixing wasn't there.

But his bored father had retold all of his childhood stories and little secrets that he had managed to keep from his husband as of yet.

"You can't stand PDA?" Kris smirked, reaching a hand over to grip Tao's thigh but let go when Tao jumped, almost running over an old lady. 

"Stop it," Tao snapped, slapping Kris's hand away. "That was when I was younger."

"Thats why we never hold hands in public," Kris suddenly exclaimed in revelation. "And why you never let me kiss you outside. And why you always walk with me outside a two foot radius."

"Shut up," Tao growled in frusteration and Kris just chuckled again before reaching over and grabbing the wheel. He drove the car a little bit off the road before he parked it and opened the car door. Tao watched, half in amusement, half in confusion as Kris walked around the car towards his door and quirked an eyebrow up in amusement. "What are you doing," he finally asked as Kris pulled him outside and placed him on top of the car hood.

"Close your eyes sweetheart," Kris whispered as he closed the space between them, kissing the breath out of Tao in the middle of a bustling street. Tao could vaguely hear a child shouting, "Ewww PDA" but he couldn't bring himself to care for once. 

Because after all, this was Kris. This was his best friend and this was the person he was in love with. This was the gummy smile that made Tao melt and the atrocious artwork that made him laugh. This was the boy who once gave him his juice pack and this was also the man who held him at his father's funeral.

This was Kris and this was Tao's forever.

Author's Notes:

Wow, I finally finished this story. I'd really like to thank everyone who read this story and stayed with me even though my updates are so erratic and short. I started this story January this year and now in July, I have finally finished. 

This story, believe it or not, has been my baby. I honestly spend more time with these chapter updates than I do on anything else. I really have grown to care for Yixing and Suho and it really killed me to kill them. This story isn't very long and its not as well written as I would have liked but for me, this was my perfection. I guess, its the forever I've always wanted, the fluffiness I would like in my own life. 

Thank you to all my subscribers and upvoters and especially those who commented on this story. Your comments really have been my fuel for writing this story and it makes me so happy to see new comments. I really hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing this :)

I wrote the epilogue as a bit of Taoris because, well, first off, who doesn't love Taoris. And second because I wanted to show how the story went on. Yixing and Suho were best friends who fell in love and their story got passed on to their kid. 

If you guys could give me some feedback, I'd really appreciate and I just hope you enjoyed this story!

Thanks :)
Cynthia (aka sushi-mushi)

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