“Call Lu Han for me and put the phone up to my ear.” Tao silently complies, grabbing his phone and dialing Lu Han before putting the phone against Kris’s ear.

“Zi Tao~. Where are you?”

“It’s Yi Fan. I’m taking Panda to eat and then we’ll be home. That’s all.” Tao takes that as his cue to shut off the phone, slipping it into his back pocket.

Wrapping his arms around Kris’s neck again, Tao enjoys the piggyback ride to wherever they’re going. “Are you really taking me out to eat, duizhang? Where are we going? Do you think they have cake there?”

As confused as he’s finding himself because of Tao, he still has to smile at Tao’s childlike personality when it comes to food. You can even hear the chuckle in his voice as he answers Tao, “They don’t have cake, Panda. We’re just going to a fast food restaurant. I’m craving burgers.”

Tao rests his chin on Kris’s shoulder, a tiny pout making its way to his lips. “So… definitely no cake?”

“How about we stop by the confectionery on the way home, okay? You can stare at all the cakes you want before we get to the dorm.”

Tao sighs. “I guess that works. If I stare hard enough, maybe I can dream about it when I sleep.” After a few minutes of silence, Tao speaks up again. “Since I’m not getting cake, can I have two hamburgers?”

Kris shakes his head in amusement. “How long have you been wanting to ask that?”

“Since you said no cake.”

“Of course. You know, you’re cute when it comes to food, but my wallet doesn’t really think the same way.”

“Humph. So no extra hamburger? Bbui –“

“No! You’re not allowed to do that, and if you want even one hamburger, you won’t finish that.” Kris smiles triumphantly as Tao listens.

------------

Kris, putting Tao down outside of the fast food restaurant, instructs him to find a table for them, and then walks off to order their food. Turning around and leaning against the counter, he scans the restaurant until his eyes land on Tao, sitting in a corner booth, smiling at Kris and waving. Kris waves him over real quick, handing him the drinks since his hands won’t be free to do so once the food is ready. Kris smiles as Tao walks back to their booth, pleased at how obedient Tao can be when he wants to be.

Walking over to the table, the first thing Kris sees is Tao’s eyes lighting up as he spots the tray that has just been set on the table, spying not two, but three hamburgers. Tao gets on his feet instantly, wrapping his arms around Kris and squeezing him so hard that Kris has to pry himself away just so he can breathe. As Kris gets his breath back, Tao’s smile just seems to keep growing. “Thank you, duizhang.”

“Uh huh. You have to share whatever Lu Han gets you tomorrow though. I’m broke now because of my Panda.” Sitting down to eat, Tao thanks Kris again before taking a big bite from his hamburger, his smile never leaving his face. If there’s one thing Kris enjoys, it’s Tao when he eats. It’s the only time Tao isn’t talking a mile a minute. Pulling his phone from the pocket of his jacket, he finds Chen’s name, sending him a text. “Please don’t go to bed before I get home. I need to talk to you.”

The reply is sent within seconds. “Is everything okay?”

“Let’s just talk when I’m home.”

“Okay, Yi Fan.”

As Kris puts his phone away, and reaches for his burger, he sees Tao staring at him. He self-consciously wipes his hands across his face. “Is there something on my face?” Tao shakes his head. Kris fidgets in his seat, Tao’s gaze making him slightly uncomfortable. “What is it, Zi Tao?”

Tao shrugs, leaving his side of the booth and moving to Kris’s, having him scoot over. “You just take really good care of me, duizhang. I know I can act up sometimes, but you always let it go. You’re the only one that came to look for me tonight.” Needing a minute to think, he takes another bite of his hamburger, looking at Kris as he finishes, taking a sip of his drink. “You’re the reason I don’t feel lonely in the dorm. I know if you weren’t here I’d be homesick on a daily basis, but I’m fine knowing you’re around. And just… thank you. I’m really grateful that I got to be a part of your group. That’s all.” Tao leans over and gives Kris a quick hug before going back to the other side of the booth.

Kris can only watch Tao as he sits in silence, finishing his hamburger. This is the first time he’s ever found himself wanting Tao to talk. He spends a few minutes thinking quietly to himself, pondering whether or not it’s a smart idea to do what his body is telling him to do. Deciding that it couldn’t hurt, he reaches over, putting his hand over Tao’s, gently squeezing it. “I’m glad you’re here too, Panda.”

------------

“Whu idju wan awk bou?” Chen asks, mouth full of hamburger. Tao decided he didn’t want the third hamburger, offering it to Kris instead. Kris figured he could give it to Chen when he got home as a thank you for listening to him as, once again, he complains.

“Do you think you could try that without a mouth full of food, Jong Dae?”

Kris, sick of pacing, sits down on the bed beside Chen as he waits. After what seems like a lifetime, he finally swallows. “Well excuse me for attempting to multitask. I asked you what it is you wanted to talk about.” Done talking, Chen takes the last bite of his hamburger, his face showing how happy he is to be eating something unhealthy for once.

Taking multiple deep breaths before starting, Kris wonders where to even start. As he thinks about the events that happened this evening, he hears himself saying, “I kissed him again.”

Chen stops chewing, obviously not expecting that to be what Kris needed to talk about. Putting a finger up to stop Kris from continuing, he tells him, “One thecond. Thwallow. Thay no more.” As he chews, he giggles as he thinks about how he sounded just now. “Hehe. I sounded like Se Hun,” is what runs through his mind, causing him to laugh, which in turn causes him to start coughing, mouth still full of food.

Kris pats his back, trying to help get his coughing under control. “Ten bucks says you were thinking about Se Hun just now.” Chen just smiles, wanting to laugh but knowing it would probably cause another coughing fit.

Finished with his hamburger, Chen rolls the wrapper into a ball and rolls it around in his hand. “Why?”

“Why… did I know it was Se Hun?”

Chen scoots back on Kris’s bed, his back against the wall. “No. Why did you kiss him again?”

“Oh.” He lets out a long sigh, scooting back to sit next to Chen. “I don’t know. We were talking about what happened earlier, and one thing lead to another, and it just happened. I figured it wouldn’t kill anybody since I wasn’t confused about Panda anymore. But then… I don’t even know how to explain it. The second it happened, everything changed. My heartbeat sped up again, but it wasn’t like it was after our kiss earlier. This time… my stomach felt like it was… like it was full of butterflies, as cliché as that sounds. And before I knew it, I had my arms around him. I don’t even remember doing that.” After pausing to get his breathing back to normal, he continues, “I just… I just don’t know what to do, Jong Dae. I thought we figured out why I reacted like I did earlier.” Pulling his knees up to his chest, he finds himself almost whining as he says, “What’s wrong with me?”

Chen wraps an arm around Kris’s back, pulling him over to rest his head on Chen’s shoulder. “Nothing’s wrong with you, Yi Fan. You like Zi Tao. It’s as simple as that.”

“Simple, my .” Kris quickly sits up straight, clearing his throat. He inhales deeply, trying to mentally psych himself up. “I’m gonna beg you, right now, to not hate me for what I’m about to do,” and without giving Chen a chance to reply, he pushes Chen onto his back, sitting on his thighs.

“Yi Fan, no. Not again. This isn’t gonna make you less confused.”

Kris, disagreeing with Chen, quickly leans down and kisses him. The hamburger he gave Chen can still be tasted on his lips. Needing to go as far as he did with Tao to reassure himself, he lightly runs his tongue over Chen’s lips.

Slowly pulling away, he’s both happy and disappointed with the results. Happy because his heart isn’t trying to beat its way out of his chest. Disappointed because… well… his heart isn’t trying to beat its way out of his chest.

Sliding his arms around Chen, he lays on top of him, not really caring that he’s probably crushing Chen right now. Right at this moment, he just needs to hold someone.

Chen, desperately needing to breathe, manages to work up enough strength to push Kris onto his side. Refusing to let go of him though, he pulls him into a hug. Chen can feel his shirt getting wet as Kris lays his head on his shoulder. He realizes this is the first time he’s ever heard or seen the leader cry.

“It’s just not the same as it is with Panda. It’s not the same.”

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A/N: I really can't believe I managed to write this today. I was watching finales on TV until 10, then was eating and watching MVs for a while, and then had to watch Music Bank. Trying to fit this into that schedule was such a pain. But I did it! I'm so proud of me. I'm so tired though, so I didn't read through this for typos and/or grammar errors. So, if you find some, I'll be eternally grateful to you if you let me know about them.

@Ban-N-Tao - I'm glad my story is the reason you've started liking Taoris.
@siahna - Joey <3's you.

I was just gonna leave you both comments in the comment section, but your comments made me so happy that I decided to put it right here instead. I'm sending both of you bonecrushing internet hugs right now.

Now then, as always, if you have Tumblr, feel free to follow me right here.

And I hope you enjoy this chapter. :]  Was written in, literally, only a couple of hours.