Tao itched his scalp, perhaps attempting to get him off of his mind.  It was quite distracting.  Tao was entirely sure that it had been one of those things that people did out of the kindness of their heart.

Yet, despite his certainty that it was nothing more than a moment in time, emanating deep from the kindness of the other’s heart, he could not stop thinking about it.

Every time he thought he’d finally purged that line of thought from his brain, it returned, reminding him of the heat of lips pressed against lips.  Tao hoped that it was just alcohol making him feel all fluttery inside as he was softly kissed by a tall stranger.

He was planning on being disappointed at the turn of the New Year.  He was content to watch everyone find someone to kiss as confetti and streamers were thrown into the air.  However, just as everyone finished the countdown, he found himself pulled into a kiss.  It was the most tender kiss of his life, the stranger actually had to bend down to kiss Tao, which was a feat in itself.  For a kiss that was fueled by kindness and impaired decision-making, it woke up all of the butterflies in Tao’s stomach.  It sealed his eyes shut as his lips moved against the stranger’s.

When the stranger pulled away, he wished Tao a Happy New Year with a timid smile.   Tao reciprocated the comment that everyone in the room made.  He honestly wanted to thank the man, for kissing him when no one else would, but Sehun interrupted the moment by bear hugging him.

So, Tao left the New Year’s Eve party with a slightly drunk Sehun hanging off his shoulders, shouting about how this was going to be their year.  Since waking up around 11:00 AM on the first of January, the thoughts of his first kiss of the year never left his mind for long.

Tao slumped in his seat, causing the rider next to him to look at him slightly funny.  Tao didn’t care because it was getting ridiculous.  It had been months and thinking of the kiss still set his heart aflutter.  He looked out bus’s window, seeing his reflection frown.

The bus came to a screeching halt at his stop; Tao used the force from the stop to shoot up from his seat. He jumped off the bus, completely prepared to go back to his shared apartment.  He opted to use the stairs as opposed to the elevator.  He hummed to himself, taking it two steps at a time until he reached the top floor.  Granted the circulation was horrible on the top floor, most likely the reason for such cheap rent, and the lack of a view made life a boring if he looked out the window.   He hustled to the door, completely prepared to lose himself in a pint ice cream over a two second kiss and hopelessness.

Sehun stopped him, laying his hand squarely across his chest with a ticket in his hand.  “What’s this?” Tao asked, glancing up at his best friend incredulously.  Sehun was not one to give gifts off hand.

“I have a date, which is an offer I will not refuse, but I already bought a movie ticket.  So, you are going to watch this movie, while I, hopefully, get lucky.”  Sehun pushed Tao back out of the front door.  “I’ll text you if my plans result in returning to the apartment, in which case, don’t come home until the morning.”

“But—“ Tao whined.

Sehun promptly cut him off, “Have fun.”  Sehun wished as he shut the door in Tao’s face.

Tao stared at his door that was a mere centimeters in front of him.  He didn’t bother trying to argue; all he could do was hope that Sehun wouldn’t be bringing his date home.

He trudged back down the stairs, glancing at the ticket.  The movie was starting in less than half an hour; luckily the theater was within a comfortable walking distance from the apartment.  He smiled to himself, simply enjoying that he didn’t have to waste any bus fare because Sehun was kind of insane.

Tao walked, enjoying that it wasn’t too cold outside and it wasn’t too hot.  It was just right.  Tao’s mind drifted right back to New Year’s once more; those lips had been just right against his.  He groaned internally, wondering when he would get over this hopeless obsession with a man whose name he didn’t even know.

He arrived at the movie theater sooner than he’d anticipated.  He looked at the title of the movie, but it gave away nothing about the movie might possibly be.  He walked straight past the concessions; scoffing at the inflated prices and mumbling about they were trying to rob him blind.

He glanced at the theater number, trekking through the overly air conditioned theater.  He wished he had a jacket because he was going to be freezing his off alone for at least an hour and a half.

He begrudgingly trudged into the theater, locating his seat immediately.  He hugged his knees to his chest, using the seat in front of his to effectively cocoon himself.

He watched with little interest as advertisements flashed across the screen in front of him.  He didn’t bother checking out the person who sat next to him, opting to play games on his smartphone instead.  He sat in Sehun’s seat, bitter about how he’d been kicked out of an apartment for which he paid half of the rent.  A tad bit glum that he may or may not have fallen in love with a total stranger after two seconds of lip contact.  It wasn’t like it had been his first kiss; his heart was just being ridiculous.

Tao did notice, however, when all of the movie trailers began playing.  One trailer for a horror movie after another indicated to him that he was not going to enjoy his movie going experience, no.  Sehun had sent him to a horror movie.  Tao hated Oh Sehun with a passion at that very moment.

At some point during the movie, he crossed into his neighbor’s space.  He gripped their arm and occasionally hid behind their shoulder.  At one point, the person next to him kindly covered his eyes while Tao covered his ears.  They pulled away after the horrific scene finished.

Tao was flooded with relief when the lights in the theater, then immediately hit with the embarrassment of having to face the person in the neighboring seat.  He turned, fully prepared to apologize for his behavior.  His words were stuck in his throat when the very man he’d been dreaming about for months came into view.

“Oh.” The other let out before Tao could.

“Oh.” Tao repeated.  He remembered that he was supposed to thank him, “Thanks for… being a shoulder to lean on.  I don’t handle horror well.”

“It was my pleasure.” He shook his head, “I mean, anytime.  Wait, no, sorry, it’s fine.”

“Tao.” He offered his hand to the stranger who was on his feet, prepared to run away.

“Yifan, my friends call me Kris.” He said, grasping Tao’s hand gently.

“Am I your friend?” Tao asked, knowing all too well that he was in flirting mode.

“Do you want to be?” Yifan flirted straight back.

“Do you want me to be?” Tao should’ve stopped before and he knew it.

“I’d like you to be more.” Yifan responded, blanching once he’d realized he voiced his real thoughts.

Tao let a small smile play on his lips.

~*~

Sehun elbowed Luhan as he tried to rise from his seat.  “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to see Tao’s face, duh.” He rubbed his ribs where Sehun had applied more force than necessary.

“Sit down.” Sehun commanded, “We need to be subtle.  Stealth is the word of the day.”

Luhan turned to stare at Sehun incredulously, “If they ask each other how they decided to see a movie, they will figure it out in two seconds flat.”

“At which point, they will be forever indebted to us for setting them up.  For letting them be more than just ships in the night, and then we can get a lifetime’s supply of bubble tea on the house.” Sehun explained, pushing Luhan’s face back to the interaction between their friends several rows in front of them.

“Do you ever lose sleep at night because you are such a terrible person?” Luhan whisper-yelled.

“No, but sometimes your snoring keeps me up at night.” Sehun quibbed.

“I do not snore.” Luhan rolled his eyes.

“Just let them fall in love and be happy okay?”

Luhan smiled at Sehun as the other intently tracked Kris and Tao’s exit, which proceeded with the two hand in hand.  “You’re such a big ball of fluff.” He whispered, placing a kiss on Sehun’s cheek.

a/n:  intentionally ambiguious.

please, please, please, please, please, just accept it as a piece of 'meh' fluff.

comment/upvote/enjoy time with loved ones/unsubscribe(if you want--understandable).

Happy New Year!