He's sleeping when Lay comes in this time, but even in his dreams, the clouds part to show the sun. It takes him a few seconds to realize that he's even waking up, blinking blearily at the faint sunlight streaming in through the ragged curtains.

    "Lay?" Tao asks, struggling to turn over to the side where he feels an unexplainable warmth pressing against the bare skin of his back.

    "Shhh," Lay murmurs quietly against the nape of his neck, and Tao feels the older boy's legs intertwine with his. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

    "That's okay," Tao all but whimpers as Lay buries his face into the junction between his neck and shoulder and begins to press a trail of kisses upwards until he meets Tao's lips.

    "What did you find this time?" Tao asks when he breaks away for air. Lay isn't usually like this unless he's seen something interesting on his travels. In fact, Tao is usually the one who initiates anything. Lay is more of a cuddler.

    Lay pauses for a second, his lips, and grins widely. "I found him."

    "Him?"

    "The one meant for you. The tall, blonde one. He's more attractive in person. Attractive enough to make head turns, definitely. He turned mine."

    Lay says this all so matter-of-factly that Tao feels the jealousy and fear surge before he can help it, and Lay is suddenly underneath him, pressed down into the bedsheets. His brown eyes blink widely up at the black-haired boy, but he makes no move to struggle.

    "Tao." Tao flinches because his name rolls so easily off of Lay's lips, and Lay is staring at him with lidded eyes signifying that the older man is thinking very hard. "Taozi." The affectionate nickname makes Tao loosen his grip on Lay enough for the russet-haired boy to shift his arms around Tao and pull him down so that Tao's head rests comfortably in the crook of Lay's shoulder.

    Tao suddenly feels very young as he grasps at Lay's black tanktop and tries to push up the fabric only to be stopped by slim fingers and a gentle smile.

    "Taozi," Lay breathes, running his fingers through the younger's black hair. "Taozi, you know this is the last part of the healing process, right? Finding the right person."

    "But I want you," Tao whines, lips seeking out plumper twins as he runs his right hand up Lay's flat stomach. He can feel the muscles tense under his hand and smiles against Lay's mouth. "I think you're beautiful," he says, a little in awe as he sinks into the bed with Lay pressed to his lips.

    "There he is," Lay hisses, squeezing Tao's hand as he nods toward the blonde haired man who has just finished buying an espresso and chocolate donut from the front counter of the café.

    "I don't think he's that attractive," Tao mutters petulantly, pouting his lips a little.

    "Well, I think he is," Lay says, his lips. "That hair, that jawline, that gummy smile, and that personality. I've made sure that you two are perfectly suited. He'll be able to protect you, and you'll be able to protect him in turn."

    Tao doesn't say anything, just observes the tall man as he exits the café. He walks with a confidence that Tao only wishes that he had and has long, elegant fingers that Tao envies. When he turns back to Lay, the older man looks wistful, drumming his fingers against the table as he observes the blonde man as well.

    "I like these fingers better," Tao decides, picking up Lay's busy hand from the table and pressing it to his lips.

    Lay simply rolls his eyes but indulges Tao with a soft smile as he lets their hands rest intertwined on the top of the table. "His name is Kris. He's twenty-one years old, and he's perfect for you."

    Tao still remembers the first day he met Lay. It was right after Baekhyun stabbed his heart, stomped on it a few times, and then threw it in the gutter for good measure…metaphorically of course. Down on his luck, feelings completely destroyed because Baekhyun had specifically told Tao that "I don't think I'm gay" when the relationship ended and then ended up dating another man, Lay had appeared on the street side, handing out business cards.

    "Heartbroken?" he had asked, smiling as Tao tried to give him his worst glare. "That's okay. I can help."

    Tao had taken the business card because he hadn't had another way out, but he did remember thinking that anybody who was in the business of "healing after heartbreak" would be a lunatic or a e.  Lay was anything but, and their first date left Tao breathless in his apartment after Lay's light kiss brushed to his cheek.

    "Have you done this before?" Tao asked after their first time when they were cuddled in his apartment bed, lazily intertwining and flexing fingers as if it were holding hands were some novel action.

    Lay hesitated but only for a second before he replied, "Only once, and he said that I was so good that I should make it into a business…so I did." His delicate shoulders had shrugged then, and Tao had realized then that Lay was something special.

    "So you like wushu?" Kris asks across from the dinner table.

    Tao puts down his fork and nods silently.

    "Then…do you want to teach me some?"

    Kris' tentative smile, such a huge break from his usual stoic expression, is enough to make Tao crack a small smile back and nod slowly.

    Kris and Tao have their second date in the gym. Kris sprawls out against the gym mat, blue t-shirt riding up on his body to expose a well-defined abdomen. Tao feels a little dizzy as he demonstrates the pick-up wushu move once again before directing Kris to try.

    The blonde man does, and though he's a bit wobbly on the landing, he succeeds and jubilantly gives Tao a thumbs up. Tao doesn't feel this way with Lay, off-center and confused. Kris is just so…cool.

    "Let me try it again," Kris insists. "I can do it better."

    "Okay," Tao replies, and he's breathless. This isn't a good sign.

    Yet when he goes home and Lay is waiting up on the couch, snuggle under a blanket while he watches game shows, he can't help but wrap the older man in his arms and bury his face in the russet-colored hair as he always does.

    "Let's break up next week," Lay whispers. "Taozi, we have to. It's just the way that—"

    Tao drowns out Lay's logic in a mess of kisses and couch cushions.

    The first time Tao and Kris kiss, Tao tries to take control. He bites Kris' lip, presses against the slightly taller man's shoulders, and even tries to use his flexible frame to overcome the height difference. Kris simply chuckles and threads his fingers through Tao's black hair and pulls, gently but firmly.

    "Taozi."

    At the nickname, Tao stiffens, but Kris' supple lips ply him into a nice haze.

    "Tao," Kris says, pulling away, "are you seeing someone else?"

    "Hmm?" Tao mumbles, and then the haze is broken as Kris stares at him with narrowed eyes.

    "Are you seeing someone else?" Kris repeats, and his fingers are tracing Tao's collarbone until he yanks down the black shirt slightly to reveal the lovebite that Tao didn't know was there.

    "I don't like to be played with," Kris mumbles quietly, and his stoic expression is once again plastered on his face as he turns away. "Go back home."

    "Kris," Tao breathes. "No, that's not how it's like. No, Kris." He doesn't know why his chest feels so constricted or why there are tears pricking at the corner of his eyes, but he puts his hand over the place where Kris found the lovebite and keeps it there protectively. "You don't understand, Kris. You need to listen to—"

    "I understand perfectly," Kris snarls, picking up Tao's light black jacket and throwing it at him. "Now get out."

    Tao cries in Lay's arms that night.

    The next day Tao is shocked and horrified when Lay returns home with a huge bruise on his cheek.

    "I guess he didn't like what I had to say," Lay mumbles, rummaging in the fridge to pull out an ice pack and put it on his cheek. "I'll go talk to him tomorrow."

    "Don't bother," Tao says vehemently, but his stomach flutters as Lay shakes his head and smiles.

    The day after that Lay nurses a clipped shoulder, and after that, he comes home with a smile saying that he finally gave Kris a mean right hook in his gut.

    "I think he'll listen now," Lay says confidently, blowing cool air over his bruised knuckles, "but his abs are surprisingly harder than they appear."

    "I need to kiss you," Tao declares quietly, and he grips Lay's hips as the man tries to struggle before gluing their lips together.

    Tao meets Kris at the gym again, smiling slightly as Kris rubs his stomach with a petulant frown.

    "Taozi," he says, and he reaches out his arm so that Tao is trapped between him and the elliptical machine, "Taozi, is there a reason I can't be your one and only? Am I not good enough?"

    The masked pain in Kris' voice is enough for Tao to place both hands on the other man's face and drag him into a fervent kiss.

    "I don't want to be second place," Kris whispers quietly, but Tao only shakes his head.

    "Kris, you'll never be second place."

    Tao brings Kris back to his apartment that night. He wants Kris to meet Lay and understand, but Lay's side of the bed is cleanly made and the closet is emptied.

    "No…" Tao sits down on the side of his bed heavily and runs a shaky hand through his already rumpled hair. "No…Lay wouldn't do this to me. Lay loves me. Lay is…" He breaks off as a sob racks his body, and Kris wraps his arms around the younger's man.

    "He cares about you," Kris says truthfully, rubbing the sore spot on his stomach. He hadn't known that the slender man could pack such a hurtful punch.

    "I know," Tao whispers, and that's why it hurts.

    "Sorry," the attractive boy says, pulling up a chair to the table where Kris and Tao are enjoying their third month anniversary, "but you look familiar. Did you use to know Lay?"

    Tao drops his fork onto the ground, and Kris picks it up, putting it on the table cloth as both of them turn to observe the young-looking man.

    "How do you know Lay?" Tao asks defensively.

    "I used to date him," the man says flippantly. "My name's Luhan."

    "Tao," Tao replies, not quite trusting the pretty face that is smiling somewhat sadly at him.

    "Lay hasn't called in a few weeks. I think something's happened to him," Luhan says in a concerned tone, furrowing his brows. "He usually calls to check up on me and Sehun at least once a week, but around a month and a half ago he stopped calling. Do you know where he is?"

    Tao shakes his head even as his hands clutches Kris' tightly.

    Luhan's smile drops, and he grabs at the tablecloth tightly. "Lay can't survive on his own," he whispers. "If he's found somebody by now, he would call. If he hasn't, then…here's my number." Luhan scribbles a string of numbers on the napkin at the table and hands it to Tao. "Call me if you see him."

    It isn't Tao who finds Lay but Kris. Tao is shocked when Kris hauls the slim man inside on his shoulder and even more shocked when he puts Lay on the couch. Lay has obviously seen better days because he's shiver, damp, and there's a small gash on his forehead that is bleeding quite violently.

    "Where'd you find him?" Tao asks, placing his hand over his mouth as Kris dabs at Lay's head wound with a damp towel.

    "In the street," Kris replies darkly. "Somebody just dumped him there." Even though his tone is dark, Kris' hands are gentle as he smooths Lay's hair away from his forehead for better access to the gash. Tao stares, wondering where this super gentle side came from.

    Lay whimpers, and Tao grabs his hand before the man's eyes flutter open.

    "Hey, Taozi," he says tiredly. "How's it going with Kris?" Then he lets out a huge gust of breath and faints, head lolling back against the couch cushions.

    Tao calls Luhan that night, and the other man is absolutely spitting fire.

    "Let me talk to him!" Luhan insists until Tao is finally beaten down into handing the phone to Lay who is sitting up tiredly on the couch, wrapped in a blanket.

    "Luhan," Lay says when he gets the phone, "first calm down. Is Sehun there? No, good. Talk without inhibitions then."

    Tao watches as Lay's expression progresses from a smile to a frown and then finally to a blank slate of a face.

    "Yeah," he says finally. "It was him. No, no, don't press charges. He's just having a hard time right now. No, I'm not an idiot, Luhan. I just don't think that he deserves this. He wasn't in his right mind, you know that. No…I know Luhan. I'll call you again tomorrow, okay? Go out to your dinner with Sehun."

    Tao takes the phone after Lay hangs up and observes as the man presses a hand to his head and hisses in pain. He hasn't seen Lay like this before and doesn't know what to do, so he tries to take the older man's hand. Lay pulls away and sprawls across the couch, throwing his arm across his eyes.

    "Goodnight, Taozi," he trills. "Go to bed."

    Tao wakes up in the middle of his sleep that night only to find the bed spot beside him empty. When he stumbles out into the hallway, he sees Kris sitting on the couch watching TV. Lay is watching too, his head resting just barely against Kris' thigh as the two of them laugh quietly about whatever joke the host of the show just said. Tao slips back into bed with a smile.

    Kris is the one who pushes it first as the three of them sit in front of the TV, watching a mindless romantic drama. It's become a cozy routine as Lay settles into the lives of Tao and Kris. Lay cooks breakfast for them now, and Tao finds out that he's missed this. But Lay still won't take his hand whenever Tao offers it, and Tao thinks that the emotional distance between them is greater than ever before even if the physical difference is shortened.

    "So, who did that to you?" Kris asks, moving his hand to push Lay's hair out of his face so that the clean white bandage covering his head wound is visible. Tao notices that Kris seems to touch Lay's hair a lot more usually.

    "Just an old friend of mine," Lay replies, shrugging his shoulders.

    "Your old friends do this to you?" Kris queries, raising one perfect eyebrow.

    "He was just a little upset," Lay defends. "His girlfriend broke up with him, and I guess he blamed me."

    "Stupid," Kris snorts and smiles. Lay smiles back, and Tao leans against Kris' shoulder. He could get used to this.

    Tao finds Lay handing out business cards on the street the next day and brings the older man back to his apartment with a firm grip.

    "No," he says even as Lay's cell phone rings and the other man moves to the pick it up. "No, you're not doing that anymore. You're staying with me and Kris. That is final."

    Lay's eyes crinkle as he smiles widely and pats Tao's cheek. "Taozi is always a good person," he sighs, rubbing uncomfortably at the bandage on his forehead, "but there are times when people have to go."

    "No."

    This time it isn't Tao who speaks but Kris as he enters the apartment, shaking out his sweat-dampened hair. He's probably just returned form the gym, judging from the white towel slung around his neck.

    "No, Lay. You don't have to go. You're staying here."

    Tao beams.

    They fall together in a weird way as the days pass. Lay makes breakfast before Kris reports to work, leaving both Lay and Tao at home unless Tao has class. Tao does his homework on the sofa with Lay sprawled out, usually with their hands just barely touching. Lay doesn't touch him or Kris though; Tao doesn't understand why.

    "Lay," Tao says one day, putting down his Ancient Greek history homework to stare at the older boy. "How come you don't touch me anymore?"

    "Why?" Lay asks breathily. "Does it bother you?" The russet-haired boy squirms closer on the couch, breath huffing out in warm puffs on Tao's wrist.

    Tao stares at the impishly smiling man. "No," he lies, and Lay squirms even closer until his lips are just grazing the smooth skin of Tao's wrist.

    "Good," Lay says, "because I'm not going to touch your or Kris anytime soon." And then he sits up, leaving Tao a shaky, disappointed mess.

    Tao notices that Kris doesn't dare touch him around Lay even though Lay repeatedly tells them that he doesn't care and even makes it a point to avoid them whenever they're together.

    "Kris," he whines one night when it all becomes too much. "Kris, just kiss me."

    "Tao, I don't think," Kris says nervously, his lips and glancing over to the corner where Lay is curled up in an armchair reading a romance book.

    "Lay doesn't care," Tao says, and he thinks that the other man probably won't. "Just…I feel lonely."

    "Okay, Taozi," Kris mumbles, and he pulls Tao in by the neck for a short kiss. But short becomes long, and long becomes a string of kisses that continue until Tao sits up suddenly, hair mussed and eyes wide.

    "Wait, where's Lay?" he asks. Kris follows his boyfriend's gaze to the corner of the room where the armchair is deserted, the book closed neatly and placed on the cushion. The two men stand up and search through the apartment without any trace of the other man.

    "Where did he go?" Tao asks, panicking now. "He still has dizzy spells. What if he faints in the middle of the street? What if—"

    "I'm calling Luhan," Kris says calmly, picking up Tao's cellphone and dialing the now familiar number.

    "You lost him?" the voice on the other side of the phone screams loudly when Kris cooly explains the situation. "You lost him while you two were making out? How do you think Lay feels about this? He used to date both of you, and now the two of you are together! Don't you have a little consideration for his feelings?"

    "Wait, what?" Tao exclaims, taking the phone from Kris. Beside him, Kris is staring awkwardly at the white wall of the apartment, looking anywhere but toward Tao's eyes. "Kris and Lay used to go out?"

    "Until Lay broke up with him, yeah," Luhan snorts. "Lay called him 'the only boy I never healed completely' and even cried after the two of them ended."

    Tao feels his stomach flip with excitement and worry. "I didn't know. I'm sorry," he apologizes sincerely, but Luhan is already off on a disgusted rant about how the two of them are pigs. Kris hangs up the phone first and holds out one arm.

    "I should've told you," he says simply.

    "You should've told me," Tao agrees, "but first we need to find Lay." He takes Kris' hand and intertwines their fingers together. "I'm sure the two of us can find him."

    "Are you stupid?" the man growls, a slightly maniacal smile on his face as he reaches across the table for Lay's hands.

    Lay retracts his hands quickly, putting them primly on his lap. From their place at the café across the street, Kris puts a hand on Tao's shoulder to stop the younger one from rashly jumping into the situation.

    "If we want to help Lay, then we've got to figure out the situation first," Kris says calmly, logically.

    "You said 'we'," Tao says, smiling.

    Kris looks surprised for a second before he smiles back. "Yeah," he mumbles. "I guess I did."

    "I can still help you," Lay whispers, but his eyes are on the table.

    "Help me?" The man's smile grows even larger, and he rises up from the table. "Come on, Lay. We'll see how you can help me."

    "I want to stay at the table," Lay protests, but the other man grabs his shoulders and practically manhandles the slimmer man into the street.

    Both Kris and Tao are up and running before the pair even makes it a block.

    "Let go of him!" Tao exclaims, catching the man by his arm and holding it there in a tight grip.

    "Taozi," Lay mumbles, obviously shocked by the turn of events. His eyes catch Kris', and Kris nods slowly.

    "Hey. Don't touch me," the man growls, and he throws off Tao's hand before grabbing Lay's neck. It's easy to tell that Lay doesn't like this because of the knee jerk reaction, which results in a well aimed swipe at the man's ankles. The man tumbles to the ground, groans, and doesn't get up.

    "Don't touch my neck," Lay rumbles, rubbing at the sore spot now developing . "Tao, Kris, why are you two here? I specifically left you alone for a reason." Lay pinches the bridge of his nose as if Tao and Kris are the dumbest people in the world. "I can take care of myself."

    "We'll see about that," Kris mutters, and Tao wonders what will happen next as the three of them return back home.

    "You used to date Kris?" he immediately asks when they're all seated on the couch with a mindless sitcom playing.

    Lay is still rubbing his neck, obviously uncomfortable. "Yeah," he says absentmindedly. "Kris was my first. He's the one who told me to make it into a business."

    "So you set up your then boyfriend with your then ex?" Tao queries. "Lay, that's really weird even for you."

    "I guess," Lay replies, but Tao can tell that he's not really paying attention from that little twirling finger motion he's doing.

    "Lay." Kris grabs Lay's hand and squeezes. "You haven't change a bit."

    "Guess not." Lay smiles, and Tao stares at Kris and Lay's linked hands. Something is changing; he can feel it.

    The first night Lay slips into Kris and Tao's shared bed, it's because they've just watched a scary movie.

    "Tomorrow we can rent that unicorn movie you wanted to watch," Kris mumbles sleepily, too tired to think about the consequences of his actions. He pulls up the blankets to allow Lay to slip in between him and Tao before rolling over on his side to sling one arm around the two younger men. "Just don't pick something that will make Tao cry."

    "I would never," Lay mumbles back, and Tao simply groans because he has an early test the next morning that he needs to sleep for.

    "Just stop talking, please," he begs as Kris and Lay begin to whisper to each other. He can't really make out any of the words, but from their escalating tones, he guesses that it's becoming serious.

    Finally, Lay flips over so that he's pressed up against Tao's back and whispers in his ear, "Can I sleep here again sometime?"

    "Yes, of course, now please stop talking," Tao shushes, pressing a light kiss to Lay's forehead. "Sleep!"

    Lay follows the command, and Tao follows quickly after. The bed has never felt quite so warm.

    As in the past, Lay is quite blunt about what he wants when he rests his head against Tao's thigh one day while Tao is working on his history essay.

    "Taozi."

    Tao looks down and places his hand on the older boy's head, patting the fluffy locks of hair as he tries to ignore the warm breath on the inside of his thigh. "What is it?" he asks, wanting to a supportive…friend…best friend. He didn't quite know. His relationship with Lay had always been a little blurry, especially when he was trying to begin another one with Kris.

    "I'm selfish," Lay sighs against his thigh, and Tao puts down his pen to stare at the man lying on him.

    "I don't want to leave you or Kris," Lay sighs again, and this time he nuzzles his face against Tao's abdomen, causing the younger man's muscles to flex reflexively.

    "I want to hold your hand," Lay whispers, moving his right hand to tangle with Tao's left hand. "And I want to hold Kris' hand too." Lay holds up his unoccupied left hand and clenched and unclenched it under the sunlight streaming in from the window. "So, I'm selfish."

    "Well, then I'm selfish too," Tao replies before catching Lay's lips in a light kiss. "Because I can't imagine you without Kris or me without Kris or Kris without us, but Kris is so cool. Will he even—"

    "You really need to stop thinking so much," Lay says, amused as places his hand over Tao's mouth. "Would I be doing this if I didn't have Kris' permission?" And with that, Lay flips over to straddle Tao's slim waist, and Tao laughs.

    The first time the three of them actually address their relationship, Tao cries.

    "Why do we have to have labels?" he asks fiercely, rubbing at his eyes fiercely. "Why can't we just Kris, Lay, and Tao?"

    "Tao," Kris says, taking the younger man and rocking him gently. "We can be anything you want."

    Lay doesn't say anything, just leans back in the window seat and rests his cheek against the cooling pane. Kris glares at him, and Lay shrugs before reaching out to rest one hand on Tao's shoulder.

    "If I cared about what people said, I would've chosen a different profession long ago," he finally says, smiling a little wryly. "But this is good. I like the three of us together, and isn't that what matters?"

    Tao feels so much younger than he actually is before nodding petulantly. Kris, Lay, and Tao was actually very catchy, wasn't it?

    "I love you, Lay. I love you, Kris," Tao says, drawing them both into a long hug.

    Kris and Lay don't say anything to each other, but they share a look that Tao doesn't quite understand before both wrapping their arms around each other and Tao and whispering their own love declarations. Tao wouldn't change this for the world.