Dipping Deep

===

And high up above,

or down below

===

It takes no more than three days for Byun Baekhyun to notice something suspicious from Tao.

“You’re either,” Baekhyun says, spreading out his fingers one by one as he lists the possibilities of the cause of Tao’s constant blushing and occasional space outs, “having a crush, having a boyfriend, having you crush as your boyfriend, having a boy – “

“Hyung!!”

“ – or having your boyfriend as your boy too.” Baekhyun raises an eyebrow at him. “But since I believe you’re still the innocent Peach I know, let’s take out the last two options. So,” he leans closer, too close that Tao has to lean back in response, “who is the man, toddler?”

“There’s no one.” Tao answers, and he realizes it was too rushed, so he clears his throat and tries to act more calmly. There are only the two of them in the dance practice room of the building – their favorite place to hang out at. “You know love is a luxury for me.”

“What?? Psh,” Baekhyun snorts, slapping Tao’s back, “everybody deserves to love and to be loved, Peach, be it living things or objects, tangible or intangible. I mean, even someone can love his own imagination.”

Tao shrugs. “I’m just saying that I’m not really interested in that kind of thing for now.”

“But the symptoms were clear! You kept blushing from time to time, you kept checking your phone, and for God’s sake, you hummed some cheery berry songs all along the hall! The symptoms were clear!”

“So you’re saying that being in love is an illness then.”

“HA! Got you, you ing smartarse,” Baekhyun locks Tao’s neck with his left arm, “you better tell me who the person is or I’m not letting you go.”

Just right when Tao was about to push Baekhyun away, his phone rings loudly in his hand, and Baekhyun uses his experience in hapkido to turn Tao’s entire body around and flip his hand upside down to easily snatch the latter’s phone away. “Is it him? Is it him??” he shrieks as he taps the screen to open the message from who he presumes is the mysterious man Tao has been hiding from him. “Ooh, Yifan.” Baekhyun smirks. “He says he can’t wait to see you, Peach!”

“Give me back that – “

However the satisfied smile on Baekhyun’s face immediately evaporates through the thin air as he scrolls up to the see the previous chats.

“He looks like Kris Wu.” Baekhyun comments. “His name is Yifan, huh? Why does he look so similar to Kr – “

Tao immediately snatches back his phone to see the photo Baekhyun just saw. Much to his doom, it’s a photo of Kris showing off his brand new name plate on his working desk. Is life supposed to be full of ridiculous coincidences like this?

“Zitao,” Baekhyun calls him by his full name, and it means something not good, “is he really… Kris Wu, that Kris Wu?”

Gulping nervously, Tao slides his phone into the back pocket of his jeans, facing the horrified Baekhyun. This is too fast, he holds his breath, even in K-dramas, the main character’s friend will find out about this kind of thing only after three or even four episodes!

“So he really looked for you, huh.” Baekhyun blinks. “On his engagement party, he asked me for your number but he told me not to tell you about it.”

“Why did you give him my number then?”

“Because – because,” Baekhyun is nervous, and this is probably the first time he ever saw Baekhyun being nervous, “because I thought he won’t do something bad to you since, you know, why would he?”

“Then why do you look so shocked?” Tao frowns. “You should’ve expected this, right?”

“I have not.”

Tao’s eyes widen. “W-why?”

The look Baekhyun gives him is so foreign. Baekhyun never gave him this kind of detached, cold look before. “Because I thought you’re smarter than this.” Baekhyun says without hesitation. “I’ve already known that Kris Wu must’ve felt something… unusual about you that he asked for your number, and seriously, I kind of overheard both of you talking on the rooftop when I was looking for you, but I never expected it to be this far because – because you are you, Zitao. You’re full of calculation and doesn’t do cliché s. Then why are you – how did you – how did the both of you get into this step??”

“It’s not even that – “

“It’s my fault. I was the one who gave him your number. It’s my f – “

“What’s so wrong about this anyway??”

Baekhyun looks at Tao for a quite long time. It’s like he’s considering very hard about telling Tao the thing he should tell Tao about or not telling Tao about it because it might ruin him.

“He’s,” Baekhyun pauses awkwardly, “he’s an engaged man, Zitao.”

Tao rolls his eyes. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“What are you doing with someone’s fiancé, Zitao?”

“A fiancé she doesn’t even love, who doesn’t love her as well?” Tao turns his face away. “I like him a lot, Baekhyun. And he likes me a lot too. Why can’t we be together when our feelings are already clear for each other?” Wow, and it’s only three days since we confessed to each other yet I’m already talking like this.

“Well then,” Baekhyun steps back, scooting to the door of the practice room, “you’re free to think like that on his wedding day in three months.”

That successfully makes Tao turn his head back to his friend.

“It’s on the news.” Baekhyun says solemnly. “You’re dating a man who’s going to be married in three months, Huang Zitao. What were you thinking when you agreed to be with him?”

Tao looks down over the polished wooden floor. “I’m not so sure,” he mumbles, “but what I’m sure about is that I didn’t think twice when I said yes to him.”

He doesn’t even dare to see Baekhyun’s face. He didn’t expect Baekhyun to react harshly to his decision. He thought Baekhyun would only scold him or even root for him if he ever finds out. “Good luck, then.” He hears Baekhyun pushing the door. “I hope you’re at least not doing something that will end pretty badly, Zitao.”

Things escalate so fast in his life lately.

==

‘WU-BAE TO FINALLY TIE THE KNOT AT THE END OF THIS AUTUMN’

‘ANTHONY WU AND BAE YONGJOON DENY THEIR PARTNERSHIP BEING THE REASON BEHIND THEIR CHILDREN’S MARRIAGE’

‘AFTER FIVE MONTHS OF ENGAGEMENT, NATION’S ‘K-DRAMA COUPLE’ KRIS WU AND IRENE BAE ARE PREPARING FOR THE REAL DEAL’

==

Instead of going out, Tao lets Kris walk into his apartment.

And instead of having a proper dinner, Kris asks for coffee, while Tao gulps down his lukewarm mineral water down. He raises an eyebrow when Kris chuckles while they’re looking at each other. “What’s so funny?”

“Why are you drinking mineral water in your own house?”

“I like drinking mineral water at night.” Tao muses up. “Especially when it’s this warm.”

“Why don’t you drink coffee too?”

“I only drink it if I need to stay super late. Coffee influences my body like ten times heavier than anybody else who can gulp coffee even at night and still can get a good sleep.”

“So you’re saying that lukewarm water helps you to sleep?”

Tao hums. “Yeah.”

Kris’ smirk turns into a fond smile. “Adorable.”

“Disgusting.” Tao shoves the couch’s pillow against Kris’ arm. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I just thought that since I have the advantage to be more intimate with you now,” Kris places the cup of coffee on the coffee table in front of him before he leans closer to Tao, “I should at least have a glimpse of your private life. Who knows, I might be here often.”

“You always use difficult words to talk to me. Just say ‘I want to be closer to you since we’re dating now’. What a waste of air.”

“Hmm, no.” Kris leans even closer, until the tips of their noses almost touched. It has become a secret gesture between them. “For you, I want to – I have to string up a lot of beautiful, special words.”

Tao almost gasp because of the proximity. “Be – cause?”

“Because you’re not just an ordinary part in my life.”

If it was a week ago, Tao would’ve mused up a series of mocking words because he actually despises romantic stuffs and Kris is being a red jelly pudding of mushy romance scene right now. Maybe he would’ve said ‘wow disgusting no I’m not talking to you again’ or ‘you must have made that all up huh such a playboy’. But at the moment, all Tao can think about is how the words are waking his sugar rush up again, just like how it will be everytime Kris is around.

They don’t even need to say anything. One look at Tao’s lips is all Tao needs to know what Kris wants to do at the moment, and one second pause of Tao’s breath is all Kris needs to know that Tao is letting him to do so. Thus he doesn’t waste any more second to capture Tao’s lips with his, engaging themselves in a battle of water-testing gestures, because none of them has stepped onto this kind of intimacy – sloppy, wet kisses, with hot breaths and Tao’s arms draped around Kris’ neck while Kris’ hands roam allover Tao’s back skin, under his t-shirt. Then his right arm is on auto-pilot, sneaking down below to play with the first button of Kris’ shirt, tugging on it until it pops open. He presses his palm against Kris’ broad chest as Kris pulls him closer to reduce the distance; to have more, more of what they could steal.

Kris’ heartbeat is on messy tempo, just like his own.

Just like how Tao’s life has been escalating fast lately, the night had gone from an innocent visit to a rather daring, dangerous, thrilling session. Tao, who’s pressed on the couch under Kris’ glory now, sneaks a look over his t-shirt on the floor, crumpled, next to Kris’ white dress shirt he wore straight from the office. Somehow Tao is glad that they don’t rush it to that extent because really, he wants to taste everything slowly, one by one with Kris, because if you eat a very delicious ice cream slowly, its flavor will lasts longer on your tongue. So here they are, panting, with Kris’ eyes fixed on his face while he blushes because of it.

But then, give it to Tao for the moment-wrecker.

“You’re getting married in three months, I’ve heard.”

He notices Kris holding his breath. He half regrets ever asking that but then it’s the truth of their situation right now. And he doesn’t blame Kris for being silent for the whole minute because what does he expect Kris will answer him with? ‘I’m sorry’? What does he have to be sorry for? ‘Don’t mind it’? But the whole world is shoving the fact onto his face now. ‘Yeah I am’? Not really Kris’ style.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” Tao smiles, and he knows it’s rather bitter but he can’t help it. “I just… I mean, are you okay with this, this,” he gestures at the both of them, “this thing between us, while you’re preparing for your marriage?”

Kris is still silent for a while before he speaks again. “If I could, I would’ve trade everything I have in this world,” he gently presses his forehead against Tao’s, “just to be able to throw away that marriage and have this thing between us instead.”

The words are supposed to make him smile, and even blush, but it also causes a loud, hard pang on his heart. “Why are you being so cheesy tonight though?”

“Zitao,” Kris calls softly.

“Yifan.”

“why don’t we talk about something else instead?”

“Hmm,” Tao hums, “tell me about your childhood.”

The tension on Kris’ face eventua