Ever since Kris had met Tao, Kris knew that Tao was dangerous. The way he made Kris' heart thump and his breath hitch was enough for Kris to conclude that Tao was hazardous for his health. Even though he was trying his best, Kris just couldn't act natural. Of course they were close; it was just Kris was keeping his boundries. It was going so well until a problematic situation occurred. Yes, Tao's aegyo happened. It came out so natural. None of it was forced, and he wasn't doing it to impress anybody.. It was just a part of Tao. And that was just the problem with Tao's aeygo. There were hardly any people that could deny it. That's why Kris was always quick to avoid the situation before it could put him in the spotlight. He could always tell when Tao was about to "unleash the beast", because he always pouted a little, and eye smiled right before releasing his weapon. 

     It may sound a little corny to people, but Kris believed that one of the most important things to a relationship was time. If both parties didn't invest some time into one another, what was the point? Even though they weren't dating, Kris decided that he would it up, and actually try to hang out with Tao. Yes... one on one. 

     The members woke up extra early on a particularly sunny day. Yes, even Kai. It was because it was their beloved member Chanyeol's birthday. The writers decided to include this segment into the Showtime schedule, because it would give off a sense that the fans were actually there to celebrate with Exo. 

     Kris invested in wearing another chic, black outfit, this time parting his hair in the middle to show off his forehead. He still needed to contain that badboy look. He didn't know how it happened, but somehow he managed Tao to follow him instead of the other maknaes. They walked into what looked like a promising store, and looked around for Chanyeol's gift.

     The thought of Chanyeol was pushed far in the back of their minds after they saw what the store actually contained. Kris immediately  walked over to a rack full of black clothing and picked out a jacket. He laid it down on a table and motioned Tao to come look at it. Communication. Communication was key, Kris reminded himself. Don't be afraid, and tame the beast. Yes, Tao was a beast now. 

"How is this jacket?"

"It's pretty!"

"It's pretty, right?"

   Tao nodded, and they both started looking through the racks together. Tao spotted a shirt that captured his attention, and he glanced over at Kris. 

"Can you buy this for me?"

"Buy this for you?" Kris was a little surprised at the request. Tao never really asked him about things like this. It was usually Suho the boys went to. Especially the younger ones. 

"You have a lot of money."

"Does hyung seem rich to you?"

"..Yeah.."

     Kris saw the look Tao was giving him from the corner of his eyes, and he quickly returned to flipping through the shirts like a magazine. 

"Buy this one for-"

"No, no something like this one."

     Kris picked out a different shirt in effort to shut up Tao. He knew his aegyo was coming in soon.

"No, this one..." 

     Kris gave up.

"Mmkay, try it on. I'll buy it for you if it suits you."

"Really?" Tao looked up at him with glistening eyes.

"If. It suits you."

"I'm 100% sure that you're just gonna say it doesn't suit me."

"Yeah.. Ha, hyung is a bad person, didn't you know? Hey, is this jacket too small?"

     Kris felt a little bit at ease with himself. He had a decent conversation with Tao, and even managed to look him in the eyes a few times. He kept his badboy suit on, and just denied Tao even with his aegyo. He felt almost invincible.

     At the next moment, an unexpected Chanyeol walked in. The boys had completely forgot about the actual reason to why they were here, and tried to remain as calm as possible. Kris pretended to look around, and Tao had disapeared to try on the shirt Kris was so relunctant about. 

     Tao reappeared, and much to Kris' dismay, Tao was flawless. The shirt did indeed suit him well.

"Buy it for me please?" 

     The aegyo had started.

"It looks a bit girly Tao."

"Buy it!"

     Tao seemed a little insisting that time.

"You really want me to buy it? How much is it even?"

"I knew you would come out like this."

"No really, how much is it?"

"$280..."

     Kris just laughed it off and headed down the stairs in hope to exit without Chanyeol spotting them. He mentally patted himself on the back. He had just escaped two of Tao's traps. If that wasn't improvement, he didn't know what was. He felt like this time together was really starting to pay forward. Why didn't he think of this sooner? He probably did.. but he didn't have enough guts to actually engage his actions. What made him start now? Well, it was after he saw Lay getting closer to Tao. He hated to admit it, but it was actually jealousy that got him this far.

     The filming ended with a warm party to Chanyeol, and everyone, including the staff, had a great time. It had only been around evening time when the filming was finished, so everyone was allowed to have some free time to themselves. Kris was looking forward to taking a nap, when he noticed Lay walking over to Tao. They exchanged a few words, and both left the room. Looking puzzled, Kris he asked a nearby Baekhyun where the two boys were going.

"I dunno. Lay said that he wanted to take Tao somewhere."

"Where?"

"I just told you, I don't know."

"Why are you here anyway? Go back to the K dorms."

     When Lay had asked Tao if he wanted to out for a bit, Tao gladly accepted. He liked Lay, and he didn't mind keeping the older boy company. It looked like he had something on his mind, and Tao inwardly decided that he would comfort Lay if it was needed. The two boys made it down to the gates of the dorms, and Lay called a taxi. They chattered happily while it arrived, and when it did, Lay instructed the driver to take them to a park a few blocks away. Lay figured that by this time, many people wouldn't be at the park, and he was right. The park was pretty much empty, and the cool night breeze was a bonus.

     Lay led Tao to a bench that was under a few big trees. Even if people walked by, they wouldn't be able to recognize them around the shadows with the night sky settling in. They sat there for a couple minutes, just enjoying the freedom. Lay was the first to break the silence.

"Zitao.."

     Tao hummed in reply and faced the elder. The others usually only used his full name if they were being serious about something.

"Can I tell you something?"

     Tao laughed gingerly.

"Of course hyung!"

"Promise me.. that you'll still be my friend even if you don't like what you hear.."

     Tao realized how serious the mood became, and matched his tone of voice to Lay's.

"Of course hyung," Tao repeated, except this time with more certainty.

"I'm... Tao, I'm gay."

     Tao just blinked a few times, and faced forward again. Had he heard right? Lay just told him that he was gay. After a moment of consideration, Tao decided that there was nothing wrong with that. He smiled and faced his hyung again.

"That's okay hyung. I don't mind."

     Lay sighed in relief, and contemplated on whether or not he should say the next words.

"Tao... I really like you."

"Haha, I really like you too hyung."

     Tao smiled once more and stood up.

"We should get going. The others might worry about us."

     He was about the take a step forward when Lay had suddenly gripped his shoulders and spun him back. The movement was so sudden that it almost knocked Tao off his feet. The next thing he knew, his chest was pressed up against Lay's, and Lay's lips were gently pressed to his. Tao didn't move away, but he didn't pull forward either. He just let his hyung kiss him. When Lay pulled away, he mentally slapped himself in the face.

"Sorry.. I.. I'm sorry Tao.."

     Tao smiled again.

"That's okay hyung."

"Can we.. can we be more than friends Tao? Can I.. Can I actually call you mine?"

     Those were another string of words Tao was not expecting to hear. He was confused, and he didn't quite understand what was going on. Tao had just had his first kiss. It was actually quite pleasant in his opinion, and he might have mistaken adrenaline for butterflies. 

"Yeah. I'd like that hyung."

A/N: Just kidding guys.. I lied. I actually had something different in mind for this chapter, but suddenly my brain was like "LOL NOPE!" and took me down a completely different path. Yeah, so Lay baby confessed, and Tao accepted not knowing anything. I don't know about you, but he seems just really innocent. As you can probably expect, Kris is probably gonna have a cow when he finds out. 

The dialogue that Kris and Tao had at the store was actually from Showtime episode 3. 

Just in case you're wondering... Yes! I am Korean! I'm fluent in both English and Korean. Next update will be tomorrow! I really appreciate the comments, and it makes me want to update faster. 

Thank you guys OH SO SO MUCH for your upvotes and subscriptions. I can't thank you enough! Have a nice night/day everyone! It's almost 11 and I have to wake up early for school tomorrow, yikes. >.<