It was the tantalising scent of fresh coffee that woke Tao up that spring morning. With a groan, the twenty-four year old stretched out his tender muscles before clumsily rolling to the edge of his bed so that he could start his day. For the first time in two months the boys of EXO had been given two full days off in which practice was not required and variety show appearances weren’t scheduled. Tao had taken full advantage of this and had opted to spend his much craved time practicing his martial arts. Over the years since debut he had become slack and chose only to practice when given time off from activities. While he could easily do it in his spare time each night after dance rehearsal, he simply told himself he would do it another day before collapsing into his warm bed or a comforting bath.

His body was now suffering from his lack of motivation. He had spent the entire second day of rest contorting his body and relearning his flips. It was this that caused his body to ache to such a degree at the present time. Tao was thankful that today would be an easy day as far as his schedule went. The morning would start with a simple singing lesson that lasted until lunch, followed by a light dance rehearsal and then would end with a studio session with his fellow EXO-M members for their upcoming mini-album.

With eyes still half closed, Tao slid his feet into the slippers beside his bed before wandering lazily into the living area that sat adjacent to his bedroom door. The smell of coffee became stronger until he felt a warm hand land gently on his shoulder and saw a white mug hover in front of his face.

“You are a life saver,” he muttered with a grin as he took the mug from Kris’s fingers. Taking a long sip from the mug, Tao made his way over to the kitchen island before plonking his tired body on a bar stool.

Two years ago when the boys of EXO had been given the choice as to where they wished to live, there had only been three members who had voiced their desires to obtain a bit more space and freedom. Among those three had been Kris. It was no secret that Kris had always been a secretive person who liked his personal space. Even after years of living together, the other members still found him quiet and mysterious at times as he often opted to observe instead of participate in conversations and group activities.  When Tao had then voiced his dissatisfaction with the leaders desire to leave, not an eyelid had been bat as it was general knowledge that where Kris went, Tao followed.

It was not hard to convince Kris that living together would be the best option for all twelve members. As Kris was determined to move out and have more space, leaving Tao behind would inevitably lead to an upset Tao and a restless everyone else who had to put up with the boy. There was also the fact that Tao had always had the leader wrapped around his little finger. All it took was a well placed pout and Kris would grant the younger boy’s every wish in a heartbeat.

So it was with these thoughts in mind that Kris had told management of their plans before purchasing a spacious two bedroom apartment a street away from the EXO dorm. He had refused Tao’s insistence of paying half by declaring that it was his idea and therefore his responsibility. Kris had said that it was his pleasure and didn’t mind having Tao stay with him for free. It was worth it simply for the company of his best friend and favourite EXO member.

The older and youngest Chinese member had fallen into an easy habit while living together in the apartment. Kris would wake first and make breakfast for the two of them and then would go shower while the younger boy stumbled out of bed and followed the scent of freshly brewed coffee. After breakfast Tao would then go and wash and Kris would prepare both of them lunch for the upcoming day. The two would then make the short walk to the EXO dorm and ride the group van to the SM building where each member’s individual schedule would then begin.

“What would you do without me?” Kris smirked as he followed the younger boy to the kitchen island. Plucking a strawberry off the fruit flatter between them, Kris sat on the stool opposite Tao and rested his hands on his own steaming coffee mug.

Tao shrugged before reaching for a slice of apple. “Die?” he questioned before sliding the apple piece in his mouth.

“You can say that again. Sometimes I feel more like your mother than your leader,” the leader groaned. Kris stood from his seat and gently placed his now empty coffee mug in the nearby sink before heading towards his bedroom doors. His feet paused before turning around to face the dark skinned maknae, “I got some heat patches and massage oils last night when I got some groceries. I figured that you’d be sore today after your martial arts yesterday. When we get home tonight remind me and I’ll come and help you.”

With a chuckle at Tao’s grateful expression, Kris entered his bedroom and shut the door quietly behind him. Another laugh escaped him when the echo of ‘I seriously love you!’ floated through the walls as well as the slam of the bathroom door.

☺☻

Tao ‘s fist shot into the air in triumph at the leaders words before he called out a happy ‘I seriously love you!’.  A smile found itself onto his face as he entered the bathroom and the shower to full heat. While the heat would somewhat dull the ache in his muscles, a nice massage and some heat patches were the exact remedy his body was after. It was a blessing in itself that Kris took such great care of Tao and his well being and always had the necessary items prepared.

Stripping out of his tattered pyjama pants and stepping into the hot rays of water, Tao thought about how lucky he was to have such a caring leader and best friend. He doubted any of the other members would go to such extents to make him comfortable when he was so sore.

The only one he could see going to half the effort would by Luhan, but even then the older male would probably refuse to give him a massage. Luhan had always been more used to getting his own way instead of giving into the other members, one of the many reasons he and Sehun got along so well. Sehun was 100% about giving while Luhan was almost 100% about taking.

Of course there was always Suho, but things had always been awkward between the two as they had little to nothing in common. While Suho tried his hardest to accommodate the maknae of EXO-M, it was obvious that he only did it out of necessity rather than need.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol were also out of the question as they too lived apart from the dorm and spent all of their time locked up in their shared apartment, only leaving for schedules. What went on in that apartment was the last thing any of the others wanted to think about.

Sehun was also out as he would most likely be too busy puppying over Luhan to help his fellow maknae. Though Tao had to give Sehun and Luhan credit. At least they made the effort to spend time with the other members instead of staying in their shared apartment. It was obvious that they wanted to spend as much time together as possible, but they had managed to work out a timetable that allowed them to spend time with the members as well as plenty of time alone.

Kai and Lay would most likely spend over time at the dance studio while Chen, D.O and Xiumin practiced their singing and composing with SM’s singing instructor.

This left Kris. The wonderful blonde Chinese man who was always there with a bandaid when Tao cut himself while attempting to prepare dinner. The man who always made sure the maknae was comfortable in every way and protected him from the outside world. The man that Tao had had a heart-stopping, gut clenching crush on for six years.

“What would I do without you?” he muttered to himself, repeating the leader’s earlier question as the droplets of hot water ran over his aching body.

AN: Arrrrgh, why am I posting this ksdghsdgs. I hope it was at least readable. x_x I'll post more chapters if it's well received, and if not... I will subtly delete the story and pretend this never happened. I'm kind of just going with the flow. I know in a general sense what I want to happen but sometimes my fingers get a little too type-happy and just... do what they want.