Kris-centric
Continuity-throughout the fic, mostly following the events of Drabble #28/Chapter 36
Warning: OHOHOHOHOHO YOU THINK THIS SOUNDS CUTE AND FLUFFY, DON’T YOU?! XD Silly reader, ANGST AHEAD!!

#30:Three More Kisses

Kris’ first kiss had been with a young girl who’s family had taken shelter in the Sanctuary during a storm. Kris was six years old, as was the young girl. Kris hadn’t seen anyone his own age in almost a year, and her family was nomadic, so she hadn’t had anyone to play with besides her siblings for her whole life. It was customary for guests to have dinner with the Sanctuary residents, and the young girl sat across from Kris and talked to him through the whole meal. Her name was Iseul, she loved tag, and she could run faster than any of her five brothers. Kris asked her to play with him after dinner, and she readily accepted.

Kris took her to the third floor, which was largely unused in the evenings. Iseul turned to him with a smile and promptly smacked his arm. “Tag, you’re it!” She screamed, and she took off down the hall laughing hysterically.

The chased each other around for about an hour before finally collapsing on the floor, out of breath and sweating. Iseul suddenly pointed to Kris’ neck.

“What’s that?”

Kris looked down and saw that she was pointing at his necklace—the wing token he’d chosen.

“It’s my symbol token,” Kris explained. “It’s the final test to becoming a Guardian.”

Iseul crawled closer, staring at the charm intently. “Can I see?”

Kris was reluctant to take his necklace off, so he simply leaned closer to Iseul and allowed her to turn the amulet over in her hands.

“It’s so pretty,” She sighed, brushing her fingertips over the carved feathers. “What’s it made of?”

Bone, Kris thought, but that was probably too frightening to hear for the average six year old.

“I don’t know,” Kris lied. “I never asked.”

Iseul shrugged and let the amulet fall. “Well, it’s nice anyway.”

Kris held the wings in his palm. “I’m supposed to have wings like this,” he blurted.

Iseul’s eyes widened and she gasped. “Really?! No way, humans can’t have wings!”

“I can,” Kris told her. “Because I’m a Guardian.”

“Wow,” Iseul sighed. “Is it fun being a Guardian?”

“Not yet,” Kris admitted. “Right now it’s just lonely.”

Iseul giggled. “But you live in this nice place with all of these people, how could you be lonely?”

‘Because I need my other Guardians,’ Kris thought, but before he could say that Iseul was on her feet once more.

“Come on, let’s play more!”

Kris chased her to the end of the hall, and just when he thought he had her cornered she managed to dodge him.

“Missed me, now you have to kiss me!” Iseul sang as she skipped away.

Kris stood there, dumbstruck. “I have to what?” He asked incredulously.

Iseul stared at him. “I was just kidding…unless you want to kiss me?” She asked with a shy smile.

Kris blinked at her. Did he want to kiss her? Probably, he reasoned. Boys kissed girls, and since he was in a group with all boys she was probably the last girl he’d see for a long time…

“Okay, I will kiss you,” Kris decided.

Iseul giggled and shuffled closer. She started to close her eyes, but before she could finish Kris leaned in and pecked her swiftly on the lips.

“There,” He said as he pulled back. Iseul was blushing and she giggled again, hiding her face in her hands.

“You’re cute,” she said to Kris.

“Am not,” Kris fired back, puffing up slightly. “I’m a boy.”

“Boys can be cute too,” Iseul said imperiously. “Sometimes they can be cuter than girls.”

Shortly after that, Iseul decided it was time for her to find her family again, so Kris lead her back downstairs. She held onto his hand the whole way, and Kris didn’t protest. She and her family left the next day when the storm cleared, and she walked out backwards, waving to Kris until she finally turned a bend in the path. Kris never saw her again.

Kris’ second kiss was with Chanyeol, on a rainy night in the Northern Sanctuary. They were both in the healers room, Chanyeol burning with fever and Kris with an awful ache in his bones. It was either very late in the night or very early in the morning, Kris didn’t know which. Either way, everyone else was asleep. He and Chanyeol had been trying to talk to distract themselves from how awful they felt, but they had trailed off, each lost in his own thoughts.

Kris thought that maybe flying, living forever and being a Guardian wasn’t worth all this. His bones were being scraped out from inside, what was fun about this? And Chanyeol was practically near death with the way his temperature skyrocketed. They easily had the short end of the stick, everyone else had it easy. Nothing in their body had to change.

“I wonder why Xiumin doesn’t freeze,” Kris suddenly said out loud.

Chanyeol looked over at him, squinting in the darkness. “What do you mean?”

Kris sighed. “He freezes things, so why doesn’t he turn into an icicle?”

“Oh!” Chanyeol said, “It’s because he doesn’t make ice from nothing. He freezes water that’s already there, just by changing its state. I make fire from nothing, so I have to start it myself using my own body heat.”

“Ah,” Kris said. He hadn’t actually expected Chanyeol to know. “You know of all the elements that you could have gotten, you got the worst.”

Chanyeol hummed. “But I don’t mind, I think fire fits me.”

“I think you’re more like Earth,” Kris mumbled.

“Why?” Chanyeol asked.

“Because you’re strong and intimidating,” Kris teased.

Chanyeol laughed. “Baekhyun should have been ice,” He said. Then, “Oh, that was mean…he’s a good person…”

“He’s frosty,” Kris scoffed. “No getting around it. Kyungsoo should have been Air. He’s more suited for the wings than I am, he’s small and squishy…I should have been…I don’t know. Anything but this.”

“You were meant for wings,” Chanyeol insisted. “I was meant for fire, there’s no getting around it.”

“Wings are for people who can be leaders,” Kris sighed. “I didn’t want to be a leader.”

Kris heard Chanyeol sit up. “I don’t think anyone wants to be a leader in this case, the job picks them. like the Tree picked us.”

“The Tree did a lousy job,” Kris snapped. “What kind of a leader am I? Look at me, do I look strong to you?” And he sat up too, forcing himself to lean over and turn up the lamp next to him, even though it hurt to do so.

He caught Chanyeol’s gaze, his eyes bright in the flickering lamplight. The shadows made him look older, and Kris had to wonder how he looked. He had much sharper features than Chanyeol did, and with his pained expression he must have looked wicked. He fell back on his pillow and his side.

“If Lu Han had been there before me, he might have been made leader,” Kris mumbled. “It wasn’t anything special about me, it was a matter of convenience. That’s all it was.”

He heard Chanyeol’s sheets rustle and a few seconds later felt his mattress dip. Chanyeol laid down next to him, settling against his back.

“Hyung,” Chanyeol whispered, sounding tearful. “It hurts…”

Immediately Kris turned over and gathered Chanyeol in his arms. His skin felt almost too hot to touch, but Kris knew how clingy Chanyeol could get when he was in pain so he reconciled himself to being too warm that night.

“Where does it hurt?” Kris asked gently. “Do you want me to get the Healers?”

“No,” Chanyeol sniffled, wrapping his arms around Kris’ waist. “I just want you…”

“Okay,” Kris soothed, petting Chanyeol’s hair gently. “You can stay in my bed tonight if you want, I don’t mind. I…are you smiling?”

Chanyeol pulled back and grinned almost smugly at Kris. “And you say you aren’t a leader.”

Kris blinked down at him. “What…you were faking it?!”

“No,” Chanyeol admitted. “It really does hurt, but you always make me feel better. Even though I know it’s uncomfortable since I’m so warm, you and Suho never turn me away, you always want to protect me. That’s what makes you a good leader.”

Kris stared at Chanyeol in shock for a few more seconds, then Chanyeol closed his eyes and huddled closer to Kris.

“Ouch,” he muttered, “It really does hurt…”

Kris leaned down and kissed Chanyeol’s forehead lightly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have said all that to you now…you’re right, I will always protect you. I’ll never turn you away, I’ll always be here. If I could take your pain I would…”

Chanyeol sighed. “Kris?”

“Yeah?”

Chanyeol leaned up and kissed him square on the mouth. “Shut up and go to sleep,” he mumbled when he pulled away.

Kris’ third kiss happened much later, when they were on Earth. He hadn’t had much time to think about kissing since his last one with Chanyeol, only enough to realize that it was Chanyeol being Chanyeol, and it was nothing but a moment between friends. Chanyeol had Baekhyun, and he would never feel that way about Kris.

Now that they were reunited as twelve and they were older and more mature, Kris could clearly see lines being drawn. He wondered how he could have ever missed the underlying between Kai and Chen, how he had overlooked just what Chanyeol meant to Baekhyun. And there were other hints lingering around, sideways glances that lead to blushes, hands that crept closer only to be pulled away at the last second. It was lonely, being the leader and knowing that these were your kids, and maybe they didn’t need you as much anymore.

On the eighth year anniversary since reuniting, they went back to meet the Tree of Life. It had been three years since Lu Han and Sehun’s wedding, and two weeks since Tao’s meltdown on the road. Kris replayed the incident for the Tree, showing it how helpless he’d felt in that moment, unsure of what he could say to Tao that would make him stop hurting.

The Tree sent a rush of comfort to him. “It’s difficult to be patient, especially in areas such as love. But I want you to keep an open mind, dear one. Love comes in all shapes and forms, and sometimes it takes time. You will find love, I promise. All of you will find something that makes you happy, and you will always have each other.”

But it was so hard to believe that when he watched Sehun and Lu Han cuddle, and he was by himself with only an extra sweater for warmth.

Whenever they come across and abandoned apartment or hotel, they pair off and go their separate ways for the night. Tao had started to spend some time with Xiumin, kicking Suho out more often than not. When that happened, Suho would show up at Kris’ door, holding a pillow and smiling in a slightly helpless way. It was on a night such as this when Kris suddenly turned to Suho as they got ready for bed.

“Did you mean what you said to Tao?”

Suho looked over at him in surprise, stuck with his shirt halfway off. Kris himself was only half dressed in a pair of loose pants, his shirt forgotten on the bed.

“About what?” Suho asked.

“About being lonely,” Kris clarified.

Suho finally pulled his shirt off, taking his time with his answer. “Yes,” he said simply, his back turned to Kris.

“Do you see yourself falling in love one day?” Kris pressed.

Suho shrugged. “Maybe. I’ll have to see what happens.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kris demanded.

“It means I try not to think about it,” Suho said.

Kris put his hand on Suho’s shoulder and turned him around. “So you’ll just sit around and wait?”

Suho rolled his eyes. “In case you haven’t noticed Kris, we’re kind of alone on this planet.”

Kris felt his stomach drop a little. “You want someone outside of our group?”

Suho’s eye twitched. “I don’t know,” he said vehemently. “I don’t know anything, Kris! And I won’t know until it’s time!”

“That’s stupid,” Kris scoffed. “Why wait? If you really want something you have to look for it!”

“Maybe that’s how you work,” Suho growled, “But that’s not me.”

“So you’ll just suffer in silence,” Kris said, rolling his eyes as he turned to put his shirt on again. “That’s so typical of you. This whole time you’ve never confided in me, I always had to drag it out of you. Just once it would be nice to know that you actually needed me, Suho.”

Suho grabbed his arm and turned him back around. “Did you not hear what I said to you when we found you?” He hissed, eyes narrowed to slits. “I’ve always needed you, I’ve confided plenty of things to you, just not what you wanted to hear…”

“You’ve avoided me since then!” Kris exploded. “You think I don’t notice?! You’ve changed, you don’t talk to me like you used to.”

“You’ve avoided me!” Suho yelled, shoving Kris back. “And calling the kettle black, what about all those times you pushed yourself to the brink and never once asked me for my help? Do you know how long it took me to feel like you needed me?”

Kris shook his head. “I only did that because you were younger, I didn’t want to worry you…”

“Well you did worry me!” Suho hollered. “And you continue to worry me, and I’m…” he trailed off, panting. “I’m sick of it,” he whispered, looking down. He rubbed a hand over his face and sighed heavily. “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

Kris looked away as well. “It’s my fault anyway,” he mumbled. “I shouldn’t have pushed you. I’m sorry.”

Suho laughed softly and Kris looked back up. Suho’s eyes were shining with tears. “What a pair we are,” he said dryly. “We’ve had so many miscommunications, ever since we were young. Remember how we used to fight?”

Kris could clearly recall punching Suho in the jaw a few times, and the knees to the stomach he’d get from time to time. “We were pretty violent,” he admitted. “I’m sorry for all that.”

“Me too,” Suho said softly. “And I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you. You’re right, it was a conscious decision not to go to you.”

“Why?” Kris asked, stepping closer and laying his hand on Suho’s arm. “I’m supposed to help you, you can tell me anything.”

Suho sat on the edge of his bed, cradling his head in his hands. “I just…” he broke off with a sob and Kris sat next to him, rubbing his back gently.

“It’s okay, you can tell me,” Kris said softly.

Suho sobbed even harder. “I feel like I’m losing them,” he gasped. “Watching them grow up and fall in love…it’s like they don’t need me anymore. I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to let them go…I don’t want my kids to leave me.”

Kris swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat. There could be no doubt to whom he was referring to, and Kris had to think that Suho had gotten the short end of the stick. Kyungsoo was the only kid in his group who hadn’t paired off, but Kris thought that it wouldn’t be long before he did. And then all of Suho’s kids would have fallen in love, and where did that leave him.

“They just…they don’t need me the way they used to,” Suho cried. “They have each other for safety and love, and what am I supposed to do for them?” He hiccupped, his shoulders shook with sobs. “I don’t want to lose them…”

Kris tugged Suho closer, tucking his head under his chin. Suho curled into his side and sobbed into his shirt.

“I’ll always need you,” Kris said hoarsely, his voice thick with unshed tears. “Maybe not the same way they did but…I’ll never stop needing you. Leaders have to stick together, right?”

Suho sniffled and looked up. Kris carefully wiped the tears from Suho’s face, at the same time feeling the tears start to fall from his own eyes. “I hate seeing you cry,” he said with a short laugh that morphed into a sob.

Suho laughed too and brushed his fingers across Kris’ cheek. “You too,” he choked. “You look weird when you cry.”

“Hey!” Kris protested.

Suho reached around Kris’ back and grabbed the edge of his wing, pulling it out slightly. Kris thought perhaps he wanted a wing-hug, but instead Suho gently carded his fingers through the feathers. Kris shivered and bit back a whine. It had been ages since Suho had touched his wings, which was a shame because he was the best when it came to petting. Kris swallowed, throat suddenly dry. This felt different from the other times.

Suho scratched his nails against the tough skin under Kris’ feathers, taking in the shiver that ran through his body. “I almost forgot how therapeutic this was,” he murmured.

“Yeah,” Kris croaked. “Therapeutic. Right.”

Suho chuckled and leaned his head against Kris’ shoulder. “You know, as warped as it sounds I used to love getting you like this.”

“Like what?” Kris asked.

“This,” Suho said and he raked his fingers through the feathers, making Kris arch his back. “You’re always so much more honest when you’re delirious from having your wings petted…you used to mutter things right before you fell asleep.”

“What things?” Kris asked, wondering how he was managing to stay coherent. He was like a cat when it came to this, if he could have purred he would. It felt really freaking nice…

“Mostly about how wonderful I was,” Suho teased.

“You are wonderful,” Kris said.

Suho picked his head up and stretched forward until he was almost nose to nose with Kris. “How wonderful?” He asked. “Enough to get away with this?” And then he pressed his lips to Kris’.

Kris yielded to him instantly, parting his lips with a soft whine and leaning back until Suho fell on top of him, Suho’s fingers still buried in his wings. Yes, Suho was wonderful enough to get away with this, Kris thought idly as Suho into his mouth. He could get away with this for a long time, or at least for tonight.

It didn’t go past kissing, but a few hours later as Kris drifted off to sleep with Suho’s head nestled against his chest, he couldn’t help but feel like he was betraying someone.

I’M SORRY FOR MY ABSENCE!!!!! I FEEL LIKE I SAY THAT EVERY TIME I POST A CHAPTER BUT I REALLY MEAN IT THIS TIME ASDFGHJKL ;~~~~; Okay well if you follow my other stories you know I wasn’t totally inactive but I haven’t been writing for this nearly as much as I should have. Especially since this story was nominated in the 2012 EXO Fanfic Awards ^^ I really ought to have updated sooner…at least it’s still March though, not like I went into the next month without an update! (small comfort ><)

The last section basically continues from where ‘Third Wheel’ left off, which I didn’t originally intend…I wanted it to be happier than this…LOL WHAT IS HAPPY?! This is definitely rushed, I wrote it all today, this evening in fact because I was so sick of my own sh*t, I’ve been ignoring this story and it’s my baby so I was having none of it and I told myself that I HAD to update TONIGHT.

So here you go, this is the beginning (ish) of the Suho/Kris/Tao OT3 that I just decided I have to write because there is an absolutely SHAMEFUL lack of it. SHAMEFUL DO YOU HEAR ME (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

Oh also, 30TH DRABBLE!!!!!! YAY FOR MILESTONES :DDDDD And I've been having many Tao feels lately. THIS MAKNAE WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME I SWEAR IT. Um...hopefully next chapter will pick up where this leaves off. If my muse decides to cooperate (unlikely but one can hope).