Yifan looked at the tattoo artist work the ink into his skin, feeling uncomfortable because of both the needle and the awkward posing. It would not take much longer for the tattoo to be finished, since it was small - only as big as his thumb against the hollow of his upper arm, right above the articulation of his elbow on the inner side. He was back to Canada and the headquarters of his online shopping mall, dealing on the sideline with the workers renovating the interior of his new Underguard shop in Vancouver. The month in Guangzhou had been filled with people, but meeting Tao had been the most surprising event. He was not sure how he felt about it, sad because of the other's goodbye, but quite relieved at his forgiveness.

Burning a deep black on his skin, the traditional Chinese character was glaring back at him. The dragon sign was a symbol of determination and influence, but thinking back to his idol days, he was not sure his influence ever had the desired effect on Tao. He had always considered the younger man as a friend and never thought much of the adorable admiration and casual touches. Or rather, he had ignored it. Tao likes to play around, he remembered saying once on a radio show, and that was it, playing around, nothing serious. So he had been only half-surprised by the other's kiss. And he might have been able to fool himself once more if Tao's feelings had not been all over the place, overwhelming and stifling. Tao was in love with him. Or had been. He was not sure. He could only hope the long lasting infatuation had died down.

*.*.*

Yifan was thankful to feel the coolness of the airport when he entered but he was slightly annoyed for how early he was. His mother made sure he would be on time to fetch her friend's daughter when her flight would land and he ended up arriving half an hour early. Li Tan-Mi was a childhood friend three years younger than him, he remembered playing with her at a time when his mother and father were still together, and they would receive her family at the Li mansion in Guangzhou. He could not remember much of her face, so he hoped the childhood pictures he had looked at would be enough to recognize her. If not, he had a Li Tan-Mi board sign anyways. It was only about twenty minutes after the plane landed that the passengers finally filtered through the exit with their luggage, he was searching through all the different pale faces when a feminine voice shouted “Jian-Heng!” Surprised to hear his former name, he noticed a short woman waving her hand at him and walking closer.

“I go by Yifan now” he uttered dumbly as he registered just how stunning the woman was. She was petite, a charming smile gracing her lips and twinkle in her eyes.

Yifan could not pinpoint what it was exactly but he felt attracted. Tan-Mi would stay a whole year at their house and finish her studies in Media Arts at Emily Carr University and he finally felt somewhat happy about the you-take-care-of-her deal with his mother. And if he was honest with himself, he had not accepted her request to help her improve her English only to keep his promise to his mother. Learning about her day by day, he knew he was falling, and he could not contain his joy whenever she smiled back at him. She had arrived in the beginning of August, hoping to visit a bit before the beginning of classes. The sun was hot and glaring like during any summer in Canada, but for once Yifan did not complain as he watched her uncovered shoulders from the corner of his eyes. She was no longer as pale as she used to be as a child, but it was something he found himself liking. It was mesmerizing seeing her thin muscles draw shades on her skin, and her tone darken an alluring olive under the burning rays of the sun.

“Are you even listening ?” she asked him, forcing him out of his reverie. They were out watching the volleyball tournament that took place at the beach every summer, and his friends had left to buy some drinks. Sheepish, he looked her in the eyes, only to discover she was a lot closer than he remembered.

“I said...” She whispered. “When are you going to stop staring at me?” Her eyes flickered to his lips and Yifan did not need more of an invitation. He straightened up from his slouching position and one of the hands that were supporting him from behind reached for her arm. His fingers danced slowly up her skin and then pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen on her cheek. His heart was beating loudly against his chest but he could feel that the attraction was mutual. Their eyes locked together, anticipation building. He cupped her face gently and eventually leaned forward to brush his lips shortly against hers. They smiled at each other and she moved closer. He let his hand slide in her hair and his fingers rub soothingly at her scalp as the kiss became more insisting. He lapped at her lips and she welcomed his tongue, grazing her teeth lightly against it. It sent tickles far deeper than the tip of his tongue and the butterflies in him fluttered his eyes open. His affection for her imposed itself like an evidence and it had not even been two weeks since he fetched her at the airport yet he already wanted to offer her the world. He smiled, pecking her lips happily and they kissed with no rush until Yifan's friends came back.

“Honestly, I've been liking EXO since the first teaser was released.” She said one lazy Sunday morning when they were sharing cuddles. “Though my favorite has been Tao so far.” Yifan chuckled, amused.

“What about me then?”

“I like you too.” She giggled out, but her mirth was short-lived since he pinched the skin of her waist in retaliation. “Ya!” He glowered.

“What?! Tao's hot!” She swatted his hand away, smirking and definitely not done with teasing him. The fight resumed in tickles and laughter, kisses and gasps, and soon ended with the hissed sounds of their love making.

But also with the passing thought that maybe, yes, Tao was hot.

___________________

So here's the beginning of the 2^nd shot. Sorry for making you wait, but I gotta say I've been a bit upset over the whole “Krisis”. Tao seems to be the short-tempered type, and I love childish-Tao but I did not expect the pettiness...

On another matter, I think it is quite sad that great authors like illegiblesigns removed their writings from the internet... *where am I gonna read amazing Krisbaek now? u.u*

oh, and here's a visual help of Yifan's tattoo in the story

Please, don't be too disappointed with the lack of taoris here, it will come later in the story. This shot starts around mid-2017, and taoris will meet again around late 2018 or early 2019.