9.

Exhaustion. It ran through Tao's veins like a calm tide, washing over his mind in a temptation to sleep. But in his line of work, there were no set schedules to follow; he clocked in eight years ago, and have yet to clock-out.

Remind me again why I do this, he groans inwardly, loose fingers combing through his untidy hair. He couldn't remember the last time he had a decent amount of sleep.

The East hallway, where all the guest bedrooms were located, was eerily empty; the morning light that shone through the windows did it no justice.

Not that it matters, Tao winces as he places careful fingers on his stomach, everyone who lives here has seen Hell twice over.

Everyone working under Lay had an unspoken past; himself included.

Deciding to take a look at his abdomen, Tao heads for the bathroom and its large mirror; pain shot through his body whenever he tried to tilt his head down to examine the wound. It had been no more than six hours since the fiasco at the club.

Tao frowns.

Even Lay doesn't know how that happened. Stopping before the rich wooden door of the bathroom, situated at the end of the hallway, something wavers in Tao as he recollects his memory of that fight, but he couldn't place a finger on what it is.

Ah, Tao's frown lifts slightly as he curls his fingers around the doorknob; a different thought suddenly surfacing in his mind, I forgot to ask Lay about those two boys...

Pushing the door open effortlessly, Tao blinks in surprise as he steps into a humid, heat-filled bathroom. The titled walls were hazy with steam from the recently used hot water as discarded pieces of clothing laid across the floor.

Mind yet to process the situation, he tilts his head in confusion; the sleep deprivation was effecting his brain.

"Thanks for knocking."

Startled, Tao jumps away from the door as his head whips around to the blind corner of his vision. Narrowing his eyes, his lips open and close like a fish out of water; a small hiss escaping his teeth as his ribs throb from the sudden movement.

Kris, wet hair pushed back and effectively away from his face, stood on the other side of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped dangerously low on his waist. 

Tao's eyes quickly drop to his feet; an uncomfortable heat rising in his cheeks.

"...sorry," he mumbles, hand reaching out for the doorknob.

But before he could even the touch the wooden frame, Kris slams the door shut and locks it. As if that wasn't enough, he steps forward to stand, with his arms crossing his bare chest, between Tao and his only way of escape.

"I think we need to talk."

Tao frowns, fingers unconsciously curling around his waist, "About what? There's nothing to talk about."

Slapping away Tao's stray hand from trying to grab the door, Kris growls and moves to stand chest to chest with Tao; his damp, firm skin glistening with tantalizing warmth.

"You know what I'm talking about," Kris whispers, the words raising the hairs on the back of the younger boys neck. "Don't you think we've been playing this game of Cat and Mouse for too long? Just tell me what I have to do to--"

"Don't." Tao warns, lips set in a grim line as neither he or Kris advances any further. 

A sudden light of desperate longing shines in Kris's eyes; the deep orbs echoing that same song Tao hears in the back of his mind. But unlike Kris, Tao chose to ignore it; even if it meant his heart darkened every time.

"Why can't you be honest with yourself?" Kris hisses, biting his bottom lip as his wet lashes blink while accompanied by a frown.

Tao averts his gaze and locks his jaw with defiance; he had the right to disregard that question.

"Tao," Kris cautions, hand snaking around to pull Tao closer. But he immediately lets go when the boy suddenly cries out and pushes away;  leaning against the walls and clutching his stomach as a scowl of pain contorts his face. Kris, pushing aside what he had wanted to say, rushes over to Tao and frets. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Tao whispers, taking in a shallow breath of air before straightening up.

Kris raises an eyebrow, watching with observant eyes as Tao's lip twitches and fingers press against his abdomen in a protective manner. The tall man sighs.

"I'm not Lay, Tao. You can't fool me that easily."

Ignoring the shout of objection, Kris grabs the hem of Tao's shirt and easily lifts it off and over Tao's body. He in a breath through his teeth in surprise. In contrast to Tao's pale complexion, an ugly mar of a black-purple bruise was spreading across the taut stomach and ribs.

"What happened." Kris orders, furious.

"When LuHan and I were fighting at the club..." Tao didn't understand why Kris was so angered. This wasn't the first time he's gotten injured. "How bad is the bruising? I think I just broke a few ribs."

Kris shakes his head and tugs Tao, gently, over to the mirrors. "I don't think you just broke ribs. You should add internal bleeding to that list."

Tao nibbles on his lip in contemplation as he sees his reflection through the slightly fogged mirror, "No wonder it hurt so much." He winces as he softly pokes at the bruise.

"I'm surprised you're conscious enough to move," Kris mutters, standing behind Tao, and still under that towel. "Normally, a person would be withering on the ground in pain."

Tao shrugs, clearing his throat as he avoids Kris's gaze, "I'm not a normal person."

"No," Kris hums, suddenly flush against Tao's . Warm skin touched warm skin as sparks flew past Tao's vision. Fingers ghost around to tenderly touch Tao's waist in a searching manner. "You definitely aren't a normal person."

"Kris," Tao whimpers, wincing when the touches trail up and over his injury. A shiver ran down his spine, and he knows it's not from the pain.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Kris says, worry and sympathy outlining his gaze as they stare at one another through the clearing mirror. The humidity of the room was slowly lifting, but the heat lingered. Or maybe it was just Tao who felt the sudden rise in temperature.

He's in a ing towel you retard, a small voice comments harshly. It was that inner voice of reason, or in Tao's case, the voice of irrational thought.

"Don't touch it," Tao whispers, muffling a sharp cry of pain when Kris pokes, too roughly, at his stomach; just below the rib cage.

"Sorry," the words tickle Tao's ear as he feels lips kissing the back of his neck in apology. He wasn't sure, but he swore Kris had touched his with his other hand, but a haze of pain and sudden euphoria settled over him; unbalancing hi