Chapter 23

“Tao-yah!” Jongdae exclaimed, running out of the room they were using. He ran into a couple things, causing Zitao to stand up and meet him half way. Once he knew where Zitao was, he threw his arms around the taller happily.

Zitao looked down at Jongdae’s excited form, chuckling slightly. He patted the older male’s back and grabbed his upper arms slightly when pulling away. “What is it, hyung?”

“Yixing-hyung said he might be able to get my vision back by the end of tomorrow!” Jongdae replied happily. “I’ll be able to see!”

Zitao grinned. “Really? That’s great, hyung! I can show you around China properly for the last two days we have, and Sehun’s birthday is tomorrow too, so maybe you can see him, too!”

Jongdae hugged Zitao again, jumping excitedly. Zitao laughed, but made a sidelong glance at Minseok. The older male was chuckling. He smiled at Zitao as if saying, ‘it’s okay’ and Zitao pulled away to look at the older yet smaller blind male. He led Jongdae away from Minseok for his own safety before quickly kissing Jongdae.

“That’s really, really awesome.” He said, pressing his lips against Jongdae’s forehead. “And…I’m trying hard not to freak out. Because you still think I’m more mature than you.”

Jongdae chuckled. “I still don’t know what you mean by that, sweetie.”

“If…if you could see…you’d understand…” Zitao said, his face red at the ‘sweetie’ comment. He rubs his neck. “You only think I’m mature because you can’t see my reactions to the things you say…”

Jongdae laughed. “Okay, Tao-yah. Well, I guess I’ll see tomorrow. Literally.”

Zitao giggled. “How are you so funny, even when talking about your own disability?”

Jongdae shrugged. “I guess I’ve just always been optimistic.”

“That’s a good thing.” Zitao smiled slightly. He messed up Jongdae’s hair. “I think that’s the best part of your personality, actually. You don’t care what happens; you’ll always find a way to make it seem funny or not that bad.”

Jongdae rubbed the back of his head. “Well…Joon-hyung always told me to think positively. Truthfully, my parents’ abuse didn’t start when I was blind. My parents always found me too girly when I started growing up. They were always afraid I’d…like men. And with Joonmyeon-hyung already gay, they didn’t want another one.” He bit his lip. “Let’s talk about this somewhere else, okay?”

Zitao nodded. He caressed Jongdae’s hair. “How about we go for a walk? We can talk about it while we walk.”

“Okay.” Jongdae said. “Let me just change into something more appropriate for outdoors.”

Zitao looked down at Jongdae’s outfit and chuckled. It was still a pair of pajamas. Fuzzy, fleece pajamas with some adorable cartoon cats, and a pink sweatshirt with a yellow ducky on it—a shirt Zitao had seen a lot on TV. The shirt was casual enough. But the pajama pants made Jongdae look adorable.

“I think you look cute.” Zitao responded. “But go change if you want.”

He patted Jongdae’s back gently and let the older go and change. In the meantime, he put on his jacket and slipped on his shoes. Jongdae came back a while later with black skinny jeans and that same sweatshirt he had on with his pajama bottoms. Zitao chuckled and put his arm around the shorter. Jongdae smiled up at him slightly.

“I like that sweatshirt.” Zitao commented. “It suits you.”

“Judging by what you’ve been saying about yourself, it would probably suit you more.” Jongdae laughed.

Zitao shrugged. “Let’s get going, hyung.”

Jongdae nodded and let Zitao lead him outside. They walked around the streets, which were unusually bare. Maybe it was because it was a work day. Either way, Zitao didn’t mind. That just meant not as many people could get in the way of him and Jongdae.

“It’s really quiet.” Jongdae commented.

“Yeah.” Zitao responded. “It’s nice, don’t you think?”

Jongdae nodded and shuffled closer to Zitao, putting his arm around the taller male’s waist. He smiled up at him and Zitao chuckled. “I like it because that means I can do this.” He leaned down and cupped Jongdae’s cheeks.

Zitao kissed Jongdae gently, caressing the shorter male’s cheek slightly. Jongdae kissed back, leaning up slightly to deepen the kiss. Zitao pulled away not soon after however, rubbing his thumb across Jongdae’s cheek affectionately. He pecked Jongdae’s nose.

“Now, let’s get talking.” He said.

Jongdae pouted slightly but nodded. “Well…I don’t know where to start. My parents think that I’m being over-influenced by Joonmyeon-hyung. Which…technically, is true. I blame my parents though, for not caring. Joon-hyung has been the only person who actually cares about me ever since Seok-hyung left. Until you came along. They don’t like Joonmyeon-hyung any more than they like me.”

“Well that’s rude.” Zitao mumbled. “Sometimes, I’m glad I’m not living with my parents. Even if I do miss them sometimes.”

“Where are your parents?” Jongdae asked curiously. “There not here, are they?”

Zitao shook his head. “They’re in Qingdao. A little bit away from here. I haven’t physically seen them for a while, but we keep in touch. I should probably call them tell them I’m in China for a bit. And that I have a boyfriend…”

Jongdae chuckled. Then he went straight face again. “Anyways…I used to wish I was never born. Because my parents hated me and all that. My hyung helped me a lot, though. He made me feel special and loved…”

Zitao frowned. “You are special. Just because you like men, doesn’t change what you can be. Sure, you can’t have children…but adopting is an option… Your parents must not care how you feel.”

Jongdae shrugged slightly. “I’ve lived for it this long…I’m just glad I found you… You—you changed my life, to be honest…”

Zitao smiled down at Jongdae fondly. “I can say you changed mine too. I never would have thought I’d meet a blind person, let alone fall in love with on. I mean—I’ve always respected those who are disabled…but I think you made me see them in a new light. Like…they may not be able to do certain things, but they’re still normal people like me.”

Jongdae nodded. He hugged Zitao’s waist. “You made me learn that you don’t have to see someone to fall in love with them. Thank you.”

Zitao chuckled and caressed Jongdae’s hair. “I wonder what will happen when you know what I look like…”

“I’ll realize how handsome you are and fall for you all over again.” Jongdae responded. “And I won’t be able to stop looking at you.”

“That’s sweet.” Zitao pecked the top of Jongdae’s head. “But I’m really not anything special.”

“You’re my best friend.” Jongdae said, looking up. “And the only one I’ll ever love.”

“You’re so romantic.” Zitao mumbled, hugging Jongdae tightly. “Did you get that from your brother, too?”

Jongdae laughed. “Nah. I guess that just comes naturally. Or maybe I just love you so much I stay cheesy things.”

Zitao chuckled. “Should we head back before you get too romantic? Not that I don’t like you being romantic or anything.”

Jongdae pouted slightly. Zitao pecked the pout and turned Jongdae back around so they could walk back. Jongdae stuck close to Zitao, thinking about what he’ll do when he actually gets to see the taller tomorrow. Obviously, what was planned in the dream Zitao had a while ago—a hug and a kiss. But then what? Would they go on a date? Jongdae knew that he was going to get to see Zitao’s martial arts, too. Jongdae started to get excited. Tomorrow, he would get the ability to see again. He would get to see all of his friends, and finally get to see his brother again, and see what kind of person Minseok turned into. Tomorrow was going to be a big day for Jongdae.

Word Count: 1,313

Sorry; this is really late. I'm a lazy who had no idea what to do for this. But finally, I got stuff done and ye. I've missed writing Taochen stuff. I'll try not to keep my updates too spaced, but like I said, I'm lazy and...school. So yeah. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this; sorry it's short. I wasn't sure how to end it, so I just ended it quickly.