“I think it’s this way, ZiTao” Yixing said, pointing to the left of the street they had been dropped off on. When the younger didn’t reply, he looked back finding a very disgruntled looking blond.

“Why did we even come?”

“Because Yifan-Ge organized a nice afternoon for your birthday,” Yixing replied, ZiTao sighing dramatically as he rolled his eyes.

“He organized a couple’s day for me and Minseok-Hyung. I’m not going on a date with you, that’s weird!” ZiTao protested, Yixing’s mood drooping a little.

“Yifan-Ge said he was sorry that they’re all couple things.”

“That doesn’t make me want to have a romantic lunch with you,” the younger replied bluntly, Yixing’s shoulders drooping this time, and ZiTao tried to ignore the guilt that it made settle in his stomach.

“I know you hate me. I don’t really know why, all I know is that it has something to do with Yifan-Ge, and that I wish you that you didn’t, but I don’t know how to change it. When you asked me to come with you for something as important as you spending your birthday with Yifan-Ge, I thought that maybe things were getting better between us… I guess I was wrong.” Yixing said softly, focus set on the ground. He was a little surprised by how the other responded a few moments later.

“I don’t… hate you. I just don’t really…” ZiTao sighed, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. “Saying I don’t like you sounds too mean… I guess it’s more that I’m jealous of you. You met Ge not long before I did, but it seemed that he always had eyes for you, and not for me. Sometimes I feel like the only reason that Ge and I met was because of you… A voice in the back of my head used to tell me that he was looking for you when he found me the day that we met, and that we shouldn’t have met, even with how important he is to me…”

“ZiTao, you’re important to him too, you have to know that,” Yixing cut in, earning a small shrug.

“You’re still more important to him though.” Yixing stared at the younger, silence falling between the two until ZiTao met the other’s gaze.

“Why would you ever think that? We’re both his soul mates, we’re equals.”

“Then why does he always choose you?” The words made the older freeze. “You can’t say he doesn’t. When he would come back from his business trips he rarely asked to spend time with me, he was always with you. You’re the one he worried about being lonely. He came back to the dorm to pack the morning after that stupid party, and left to spend a week with you when I was in the bathroom crying!” Tears pricked the younger’s eyes as the memory. “He didn’t even bother telling me goodbye, and that was the last time he said anything to me before I saw him yesterday.

“Then why does he always choose you?” The words made the older freeze. “You can’t say he doesn’t. When he would come back from his business trips he rarely asked to spend time with me, he was always with you. You’re the one he worried about being lonely. He came back to the dorm to pack the morning after that stupid party, and left to spend a week with you when I was in the bathroom crying!” Tears pricked the younger’s eyes as the memory. “He didn’t even bother telling me goodbye, and that was the last time he said anything to me before I saw him yesterday. He never bothered to call and check on me or talk to me…”

“But when we’re together, all he does is talk about you.” The statement made ZiTao flinch, staring at the older suspiciously when Yixing took a gentle hold of his hand, only for the older to let go a moment later. “He tells me about how much you’ve grown over the last year. How you used to hide in your room unless he was at the dorm with you, and how now you’ve got friends that you go and spend time with who aren’t just people who are part of the mentor program or other Chinese students at the school. He goes on and on about how you’re making a life for yourself, how you rarely stumble over your Korean anymore… He’s so proud of you, and he’s worried that if he hovers over you too much that it’ll hold you back from growing like you have been.” ZiTao wiped at the drying tears on his cheeks, eyes flickering down to the hand that Yixing placed on his upper arm when he lowered his hands, Yixing pulling his hand back.

“When he would come back from a trip and spend the day with me, he would always talk about how he missed you, but was worried that you would cancel plans with Minseok-Hyung… He knew that Minseok-Hyung was busy a lot, and didn’t want to make you choose between the two of them. He didn’t think that was fair given how often he was gone; the last thing he wanted to do was make it seem like he expected you to drop everything you were doing the moment he came back from a trip… We both know Ge isn’t the type of person to try and ask that.”

“Isn’t that what he did with you though? He would come back and the two of you would be glued to each other’s side his entire time in town,” ZiTao accused, frowning at the laugh that escaped Yixing.

“That wasn’t Ge’s choice, or mine. When he would come over, Jongdae would drag Junmyeon off somewhere… after the time the four of us went on a double date that didn’t go all that well, Jongdae seemed to get Junmyeon to leave Ge and me alone,” Yixing added, giving the younger a soft smile. ZiTao looked him over for a long moment, not realizing that Yixing had taken a hold of his hand again until he felt the other’s thumb sooth over the back of his hand.

“What are you doing?” He asked and the blond pulled his hand back. “And why do you keep doing that?” ZiTao added.

“Sorry, it’s a habit. I’m probably making you uncomfortable-” Yixing barely got the sentence out before his arms were pinned to his sides as ZiTao draped himself over the other, hugging him tightly.

“It’s fine, just… stop pulling back. That’s worse.” Yixing felt a smile creep across his lips as ZiTao’s chin came to rest on his shoulder, and he tried to hug the younger back the best he could with the other’s hold on his arms.

“Do you want to go back to Yifan-Ge’s house?” Yixing asked when the younger eventually pulled back from the embrace, earning a shake of the other’s head.

“Ge wanted me to have a nice time while he was at work… it would be a waste to just go home.” Yixing nodded, taking ZiTao’s hand and leading him towards the closest destination.

“Welcome to couple’s yoga. It’s not often that we get same- couples joining us, but we hope that you two feel comfortable since this is a safe, judgement free environment.” ZiTao gave the yoga instructor a wide eyed expression, looking to Yixing, then down at their hands, yanking his away from the older’s.

“We-no, we’re… we’re not together!” He exclaimed, the instructor shaking her head before gesturing for them to take one of the open pairs of mats.

“No need to be shy, we’re all friends here,” she chimed, ZiTao groaning as his hands found their way to his face.

“I regret everything,” he grumbled, Yixing letting out a soft giggle as he lead the other to the mats.
 

“Did you two have a nice time while you were out?” Yifan asked, glancing to ZiTao in the passenger seat before Yixing in the rearview mirror.

“Everyone thought we were dating,” ZiTao replied, Yifan biting back a small smile at the thought.

“It was meant to be romantic package, so it makes sense that they would think that,” Yixing chimed in, making the younger sigh deeply as Yifan pulled into the parking lot of an ice cream shop. When ZiTao’s eyes ran over the sign, he scrambled to get out of his seat belt and the car. “Does ZiTao really like ice cream that much?” Yixing asked as he and Yifan unbuckled their own seat belts to follow after the youngest.

“This is the place he talks about missing the most,” Yifan explained, draping his arm over the blond’s shoulders as he lead the way after ZiTao. The found the blond with his face pressed against the glass of the ice cream display, Yixing smiling and cooing a soft ‘cute’ that ZiTao seemed to miss. Yifan pulled his arm back from around Yixing’s shoulders so the other was able to look around at the flavors offered, both blonds coming to stand by him a few moments later.

“Do you two know what you want?” Yifan asked, Yixing smiling and giving a nod.

“Strawberry,” the two blonds answered in unison, pausing and looking at each other.

“I hate to ruin the mood, but I only have enough strawberry for one,” the clerk stated, three pairs of eyes settling on him. “That’s the only flavor I don’t have another tub of in the back.”

“What? Why not?” ZiTao whined, looking to Yixing when there was a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay, you can have it.”

“Why are you giving in, just like that? We should at least play rock paper scissors for it or something,” ZiTao argued, the other shaking his head.
 

“It’s your birthday, you should have it.”

“You two could share,” Yifan mused, meaning it as a joke. When the two looked at him he was prepared for ZiTao to make some kind of dramatic exclamation, not for the two to look at each other as if debating the idea.

“Do you like cones or bowls?” ZiTao asked, Yixing giving a small shrug.

“Cones, but a bowl would be easier to share since we could just get two spoons.”

“Wait, what?” Yifan asked, looking between the two who turned to the clerk.

“We’ll have the strawberry in a bowl, please~” Yixing stated, leaving Yifan dumbstruck as he offered the clerk his credit card.

“I think I missed something,” he muttered to himself, watching the two blonds settle beside each other, taking turns eating a spoonful of the ice cream
 

Yixing's eyes were still closed as he snuggled closer to the source of warmth on the bed the next morning, scooting his head up into the crook of the neck he found, humming contently. When he didn't drift back off to sleep immediately he noticed the figure he was against shifted a little, he lifted his head, kissing the others cheek. When he felt the other flinch his eyes slowly opened, staring at the wide eyes look ZiTao was giving him, coming to the realization that Yifan wasn't the one he had kissed, because Yifan was nowhere in the room.


Yifan frowned at the weird shiver of emotion that flickered through him, eyebrows knitting together. There was shock, which concerned him, mixing with confusion and something that made his skin crawl, and he turned, quickly making his way back to the room he had left Yixing and ZiTao in. When he opened the door he found the two blonds sitting on the bed, ZiTao having shoved a pillow against the older's face, Yifan's mind stuttering.

"Z-ZiTao? What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?"

"Okay, different question. Why?"

"Because he kissed me!" ZiTao exclaimed, lowering the pillow as he looked to the eldest.

"It was an accident," Yixing countered in a sleepy whine, ZiTao climbing off of the bed, making his way past Yifan.

"Where are you going?"

"To decontaminate my face."

"Why are you so dramatic?" Yifan asked, biting back a laugh. He looked to Yixing, who was rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Are you alright?" Yixing nodded, lowering his hands and looking up at the other.

“He didn’t hurt me, we were both startled is all,” he said, Yifan moving to sit beside him on the bed. “And even if he doesn’t hate me anymore, I don’t think that waking up to me kissing his cheek is on the list of things he wanted for his birthday,” the blond added with a giggled, Yifan shaking his head as a smile crossed his lips.

“I think you’re right about that. Thank you for coming,” he said, Yixing giving him a curious look.

“Isn’t it ZiTao you should be thanking? He’s the one who invited me,” the younger pointed out, Yifan looking down at his lap.

“Even so, you could have declined. ZiTao would have spent a lot of yesterday alone if you had, so thank you.” Yifan replied, Yixing leaning against him.

“It was fun. I think we got a lot closer,” Yixing said, watching the blond make his way back in the room. “You might come to visit Korea and find that we joined a club at school together,” he added, ZiTao stopping and turning to squint at the two.

“Don’t could on it,” he grumbled, the pair laughing in response.

((Well, Taozi made... progress... ))