[Ren's POV]

                I knew it'd be odd of me to turn up at EXO's dorm at such a time at night after Kimi had already bombarded them, so I slept through the night to relax my mind. Since Tao is not use to me and he could be in a sensitive position, I had to choose my words carefully. I couldn't promise anyone that I could get through to him, but if it means Kris and I can be together with a little more peace of mind, I was all for it.              

                Before I went to EXO's dorm the next evening, I contacted EXO's manager to ask what time Tao would finish his schedule. He seemed surprised at first until he realised it was probably their last hope in getting him to open his mouth. As a personal thank you      , their manager himself, organised a time for Tao to be in the dorm alone for a while so I could talk to him.

                I thought it'd be easy now that I knew no one would bother me 'interrogating' him. But it quickly set my teeth on edge when I realised that the only person there to open the door was Tao himself.

                "Oh, hi," he greeted, awkwardly. "Uh...Kris ge isn't back yet."

                "I know," I said. "He told me to wait."

                Tao just bobbed his head and opened the door for me.

                "Did you want something to drink?" asked Tao. "I was just making myself tea."

                "Uh...yeah, OK," I said. "I'd like to try yours."

                "It's nothing special," said Tao, as if I was expecting more. "It's just a teabag."

                I chuckled softly as I followed him into the dorm. "How've you been? Working well?"

                "Yeah, it's the same; hectic and exhausting," sighed Tao. "I was gonna take a nap after this tea."

                That was his obvious cue for me to leave him alone. I was hoping of easing him into the conversation, but if he wanted me to leave quickly, I had to get it out quickly; after all, he is the sunbae.

                "I know Kimi came to see you," I said.

                Tao stopped pouring the water into his mug and looked at me. That was the first time this whole time he made eye contact with me.

                "Yeah, she did," he sighed. "I don't know what she told you but I'm not sorry for what I said."

                "No, no, I'm not here to scold you," I reassured. "In fact, the members and I wanna thank you. She needed to hear it."

                Continuing to pour the hot water into the two mugs he had laid out for us, he crunched his eyebrows curiously.

                "You came here to tell me that?" he asked, passing me my mug and taking a sip from his.

                "No," I said, bluntly. "Well, yes, but...I also came to tell you something similar."

                He set his mug down on the bench with a loud clunk and sighed infuriatingly. His eyes rolled in annoyance and his hands formed two fists on his hips. Turning his face away from me, he heaved to avoid yelling.

                "You can get angry, but hear me out first," I said, firmly.

                He turned around sharply and spoke through gritted teeth. "If Kris Hyung set you up for this..."

                "It wasn't Kris," I said. "I came on my own."

                Still breathing heavily, Tao softened his fists.

                "But see, that's just it," I said. "You used to be very fond of him. What happened?"

                "You happened!" Tao shot directly at me. "I can't talk to him without hearing about you first! I can't just be with him because he's hanging on his phone waiting for your replies. And everyone else likes you too, but I can barely talk to them as it is! But I know I can't do anything about it! So I just leave him alone; but now everyone's bothering me about!"

                I wasn't completely surprised to hear him say any of that; but I was sorry I didn't take notice of it sooner.

                "He's the closest thing to a brother I have," Tao said, with a tear rolling down his eye. "I knew the day had to come; we'd all move on with a girlfriend or a family and stuff. But...I'm not ready to say goodbye to that. He's still our leader and he's still my brother."

                "And he always will be," I said softly. Finally making eye contact again, Tao looked at me with another tear dropping. "He always will be. Look...I didn't fall in love with him in spite of anyone. I fell in love with him because I know he is a good man. I know he is a good person. That's why I know you love him too. But no matter what happens, nothing is going to change that. He is trying so hard to make sure of that. You just need to trust him. And he talks about you all the time. He always tells me how proud his is of you. That's the joy of being a leader; watching your members grow. You make him proud and show him the man you've become."

                I gallantly raised one hand to his face to wipe his tears that were falling down even more than before. Tao didn't react; he just closed his eyes as my hand got close.

                "He will always be your brother," I said. "And trust me; I want the best for you as much as I do for my members...my sisters. Let me be your sister too. And I will never let you down."

                Suddenly breaking down into more tears, he dropped his head on my shoulder. I held him tightly and almost cried with him.

                "Your members love you," I said. "Don't let them down by hating me so much; because I love you too...nae dongsaeng."

                Tao murmured something into my shoulder that I couldn't really hear the first time because he was still crying. But he said it a couple times.

                "Noona...Noona," he cried, softly. "I'm sorry..."

                "You have a little longer to go," I said. "So be our dongsaeng for a while longer."

*

[Kris' POV]

                In that one moment, I think I was more proud of Tao than any other time since we met.

                Unbeknownst to the two of them at that moment, a few of us had come back from our schedules and walked into Ren comforting Tao. Suho, next to me, sighed of relief. Chen grinned happily.

                "I know you guys are here!" Ren said in a louder voice. "Come in and embrace your Panda while he's still here with you!"

                I chuckled as I walked in and pulled Tao for a tight hug.

                "This crazy kid," I murmured into his ear.

                "Ge..." Tao whimpered.

                "Don't worry," I sighed. "I'll forgive you."