TAORIS THESE AWKWARD CORNFLAKES :|

Okay so Kris is not used to humans at all, Pets can kind of read each other and read their moods, and they can’t do that with humans so Kris is always worried that he’s going to do something Zitao won’t like and he’ll scare him away. And Zitao is awkward because he’s not sure what Kris is used to in a relationship and in his past relationships (though not many, Zitao has dated other people) he’s never been with anyone quite like Kris, so it’s all a huge jumble of awkward feelings and zasdefghjkl I’m so aggravated with these two but it’s cute so meh but warning: it’s painfully awkward.

also earlier this evening i tried to pronounce taurus as taoris. i think i have a problem you guise.

Chapter 4: In the Name of Love

Zitao shoved his elbow hard into Kris’ ribs. “Stop breathing down my neck,” he droned as Kris yelped.

“I wasn’t!” Kris protested, pouting like a child.

Zitao rolled his eyes and sighed. “Yeah you were,” he muttered, turning away from Kris’ puppy eyes. One would think that with his angular face and mature attitude he wouldn’t be able to pull off such a look, but of course Kris just proved everyone wrong.

Zitao was sprawled across the bed on his stomach, propped up on his elbows as he tried to finish his History assignment. Kris had been lying half on top of him, his arms wrapped around Zitao’s torso and yes, Kris had in fact been breathing down his neck. For the last two weeks, since Zitao had managed to give Kris his Qi, Kris had become infinitely more clingy. Zitao didn’t usually complain about it, because it really was nice to be on the receiving end of Kris’ surprise hugs and cuddles, but Zitao had taken to abandoning his homework and snuggling with Kris instead. He was way behind in his work, and he really needed to get something done.

Kris flopped back down on Zitao’s back and he huffed from the weight.

“You are not light, get off,” he grumbled.

Kris rested his chin on Zitao’s shoulder. “Krakow,” he said happily.

“What?” Zitao deadpanned.

“That’s the answer to the question.”

Zitao flailed and covered his ears. “Stop giving me the answers!!!” He cried. “I’ll never learn anything if you—ouch! You brat!” Kris had bitten his hand.

“Knock it off, I barely grazed the skin,” Kris sighed, burying his face in Zitao’s neck. Zitao squirmed, he was ticklish there.

Zitao inspected his hand. He did doubt that Kris had bitten hard enough to leave a mark, but still…

“You rabid beast,” he muttered darkly, wiping his hand off on the sheet.

Kris hummed and folded his wings around Zitao’s shoulders. “Let me give you the answers and I’ll give you a shoulder massage,” he bribed.

Zitao snorted. “Normally I should be bribing you.”

“Nothing is normal about us,” Kris said, as if Zitao needed to be reminded.

Zitao quickly rolled over, using his weight and the element of surprise to flip Kris onto his back. However, he’d done a similar thing the other day and this time Kris retained enough of his wits to hold tight to Zitao’s torso so that he couldn’t sit up. Zitao was left lying on his back on top of Kris and unable to get up.

Zitao huffed at the ceiling and squirmed. “Let go,” he commanded.

Kris scoffed and tightened his grip. “You think that you’re going to walk to the doorway and threaten to leave if I don’t stop touching you, and then I’m going to panic and beg you to stay.”

“Well yeah,” Zitao sniped. “It’s what you did yesterday.”

“If you try it today, I’ll cry,” Kris promised.

Zitao reached behind him to hit Kris on the head. He missed, but Kris got the point. “Listen to yourself,” Zitao grumbled, “Threatening to throw a tantrum. How old are you?”

“Who said anything about a tantrum?” Kris demanded, poking Zitao’s cheek. “I’ll let you go, but then after you leave I’ll sit on this bed and cry, quietly, until I fall asleep. It might take me awhile to do that, but if you can just imagine me sitting all alone in this room wishing I had my mate with me—”

Zitao turned over in Kris’ arms and glared at him. “You don’t play fair,” he whined pitifully, whacking Kris weakly on the shoulder.

It had been a cheap trick and Kris knew it, because Zitao had told him not that long ago that he felt guilty leaving Kris alone for long periods of time. If it weren’t for the fact that he needed to go home to shower and feed his cat, he would have moved all his stuff into the Hotel weeks ago. And then of course there was the fact that his parents paid half the rent on his apartment and it would be kind of rude of him not to use it, but that was a minor detail.

Kris his hand gently down one side of Zitao’s face, stopping to cup his cheek. “All’s fair in love and war.”

Zitao huffed again and made to get up, but Kris grabbed his shoulders and held him still. “I’m sorry,” he said earnestly. “I don’t mean to make you feel badly. You know that I’m teasing you.”

“And you know that I appreciate your hugs, but not when I’m working,” Zitao countered.

Kris sat up quickly, startling Zitao. He was now straddling Kris’ lap, and the position made him almost two inches taller than Kris, so he had to look down to be able to keep eye contact.

“But that’s when I feel like you need them most,” Kris protested. “You seem really agitated when you’re working, hugging releases endorphins and makes you happy!”

Zitao glared at him through narrowed eyes. “Is that really what hugging does?”

Kris shrugged. “Google it if you don’t believe me.”

Zitao sighed and leaned his forehead against Kris’. “You,” he muttered, like it was a curse.

“Me,” Kris responded in the same tone, right before he turned his head slightly to kiss Zitao’s cheek.

It was just a peck really, hardly worth paying attention to, but Zitao’s heart started to race and he jumped up, almost tripping over his own feet.

The reaction surprised both of them. Zitao raised a hand to his cheek, feeling like the area was actually tingling.

“Y-You startled me,” he stuttered, although that was only half an explanation. They really hadn’t kissed before, not even like this, but it still didn’t warrant this kind of reaction.

Kris stood up and touched his fingertips to the back of Zitao’s hand—the one on his cheek. “Does your skin feel weird?” He asked.

“Yeah,” Zitao said, surprised. “How did you—”

Kris smiled at him. “Qi swap.”

“Really?!” Ziato gasped.

“Only a little bit,” Kris admitted, “So it’s not going to make much of a difference.”

“Feels weird,” Zitao muttered, not meeting Kris’ eyes.

Kris looked at his feet and twisted his fingers together. “Um,” he muttered. “I know I said I’d give you all the time you needed before we did anything, but I’m just curious…when does kissing fit in?”

Zitao jumped again. “I…um…kissing?” he repeated weakly.

Kris nodded and looked up almost shyly. “I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable but I really, really want to kiss you.”

“Oh…” Zitao said a bit faintly.

Kris covered his face. “Should I have said that?” He asked, his voice muffled by his hands.

Zitao ignored the question. “Really twice?” He confirmed.

“Yep.”

“Okay then.”

Kris peeked at him from between his fingers. “I made things weird, didn’t I?”

Zitao shook his head. “No, no…it’s sweet of you to ask me, it’s just,” he ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Uncomfortable?” Kris mumbled.

Zitao struggled for the words. “I like it.”

Kris finally dropped his hands. “Like what?”

Zitao wrapped his arms around Kris’ waist and rested his head against his shoulder. “Everything,” he sighed happily. “You writing down what you think about, wanting to hug me all the time, saying that you want to kiss me and wondering if it’s okay…” He pressed his forehead into Kris’ neck. “It’s not uncomfortable, really…it’s nice. I’m happy.”

“Oh,” Kris whispered, his hands going to rest on Zitao’s waist. “I wasn’t expecting this reaction.”

Zitao pulled back and grinned at Kris. “Did you think I would run out the door screaming?” He dug his fingernails into Kris’ wings, smirking when he gasped and squirmed a bit. “It’s a little late for that.”

Kris dug his fingertips into Zitao’s torso and flexed his wings, trying to get Zitao to scratch them. For Kris, that was like a cat getting petted—if he could purr, he totally would. Zitao ran his nails gently up and down the ridge of Kris’ wings a few times before pulling his hands away.

“And in answer to your question, you can kiss me if you want to.”

Kris eyes were glassy and he blinked a few times, trying to focus. Once Zitao had spent an hour scratching at his wings, and it had taken almost fifteen minutes for him to be able to focus again.

“Now?” He asked, sounding a little groggy still. “On the lips, right? Because that’s what I meant, but cheek is fine too if you aren’t—”

Zitao leaned forward until their foreheads bumped together. “Yes and yes,” he said simply.

They leaned in at exactly the same time and their noses brushed just a tiny bit. Zitao hadn’t expected Kris to be so gentle, almost overwhelmingly so, but he seemed to realize after the first few minutes that Zitao was not in fact going to run away and he could do more than peck lightly at Zitao’s lips.

Zitao would think later on that it wasn’t very fair for Kris to be babbling incoherently one second and then in the next gain enough control over his mouth to be a really good kisser.

Like, really, really good.

Really twice.

Zitao pulled back first—his heart was racing and he could feel how flushed he was, not just on his face but throughout his body. He’d been able to feel the Qi swap a little better that time, it was like sinking into cool water on a hot day—reenergizing and relaxing, but at the same time it took his breath away.

Kris combed his fingers through Zitao’s hair and eyed him curiously.

“Are you alright?”

“I think I need some air,” Zitao blurted. Kris nodded and stepped back.

“Take your time.”

Zitao walked calmly down the hallway, and at the end he broke into a run. He stood outside the front door of the Hotel, head tipped back and staring up at the sky. It was nearly sunset, and he’d have to go home in a few hours. He contemplated going back inside and telling Kris that he needed to go home early, but dismissed the idea quickly. It wasn’t Kris’ fault that Zitao would give anything to toss his books on the floor and spend the next three hours making out.

Zitao groaned and banged the back of his head against the glass.

“What’s wrong with me?”

After a few moments he went back inside. In the room, Kris perched on the edge of the bed, looking hopeful.

“I really need to finish my homework,” He warned, “So no more kissing…even though it was really nice.”

Kris pouted a little. “Just one ‘really’?”

“Don’t push it mister,” Zitao muttered. He sprawled out on the bed and looked down at his homework, but it was already finished.

“Kris!” He cried.

Kris cackled. “I think I’m better at your handwriting than you are!” He teased.

Zitao groaned and turned around, but Kris easily tackled him back onto the bed. He then flipped over so that Zitao was lying on top of him. He wrapped his arms around Zitao’s shoulders and grinned at him.

“So, can we continue with the making out?” He asked.

Zitao cursed inwardly. Damn Kris with his sparkly eyes and his attractive grin and his really, really nice arms.

“Fine, just as long as it stays at kissing,” Zitao relented. There was no way he was losing his ity on a creaky old mattress in an abandoned Hotel.

“Of course not,” Kris scoffed. “I have more class than that.”

Apparently, Zitao had said that last part out loud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kris rubbed his hand across Zitao’s shoulders and sighed dramatically. “You poor, overworked creature.”

Zitao sighed with him and nodded pathetically. He really needed a good night’s sleep and some decent food. He was so tired, and so tired of being tired. His final exams were in two weeks and his teachers were merciless in their preparations for the tests. Next year Zitao would be a senior and he’d have to worry about college entrance exams, assuming he decided to stay in South Korea. He half wanted to just go home now, quit everything and become a monk.

“I don’t think I’ll be coming over tomorrow, and possibly the day after,” Zitao informed Kris. It was the weekend, and he really needed the time to study.

Kris nodded and patted Zitao’s head. “That’s a good choice. Stay home and sleep, at least until 10.”

Zitao laughed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept past 8.

“Even if you’re not asleep, just stay in bed,” Kris insisted. “It’ll help you.” He sighed again. “Of course it would really be a lot more helpful if you’d just agree to mate with me,” he muttered, glaring at Zitao. “I don’t understand why you would make yourself suffer like this. A Qi swap would solve all your problems!”

Zitao didn’t answer, and Kris didn’t expect him to. Zitao didn’t know what he was waiting for, really. He just wasn’t ready, maybe he never would be.

“What if I’m never ready?” Zitao asked out loud. “Would you unbond with me? Find another mate?”

Kris leaned in and gave Zitao a swift kiss. “You’ll be ready someday,” he assured. “Until then I guess you’ll just have to be tired.”

Zitao thought gave the idea of mating a lot of thought over the weekend, probably more than he should have considering he had final exams coming up. He really couldn’t come up with a good reason to avoid the physical side of his and Kris’ relationship any longer. The fact was that they were very much in love at this point, and they did have a future together. Moreover Zitao wanted Kris, and clearly Kris wanted him as well.

He made up his mind to broach the subject with Kris, but decided that they should wait until after his exams when he would be less stressed.

Zitao hadn’t expected much to change at the Hotel over the weekend, but when he arrived on Monday he was shocked to find that the building was surrounded by caution tape, and a sign had gone up advertising a new grocery store that was to be built on the property. Construction was to begin in a month.

Zitao ran into the building, half dreading that he would find nobody there, but Kris was waiting in the same room as he always was.

“They’re going to tear this place down!” Zitao cried before Kris could say anything.

Kris nodded. “I’m aware of that.”

“But what’s going to happen to you?!” Zitao cried.

Kris winced a bit and Zitao forced himself to calm down. “Where would you go?”

“I’ll find someplace else,” Kris replied easily.

Zitao gaped at him. “Another abandoned building? You think those are a dime a dozen around here?”

“It will work out,” Kris insisted.

“But what if it’s too far from here? What if I can’t see you?”

Kris rolled his eyes and flexed his wings. “I’ll come to you, silly!”

Zitao shook his head. He couldn’t have Kris flying out to meet him every day, there was too great a risk in that.

But that didn’t mean Kris couldn’t come to him anyway…

“You’ll live with me,” Zitao said.

It was Kris’ turn to gape.

“Please come live with me?”

Kris fidgeted on the bed. “That could turn out to be a bit complicated,” he warned.

Zitao went over to him and grabbed his shoulders. “Then we’ll make it work,” he insisted. Kris looked ready to disagree and Zitao switched to begging. “Please, Kris. This is such a better idea than abandoned buildings, and we’re going to live together at some point anyway! I don’t want us to have to deal with this kind of uncertainty again, it’s not fair to either of us.”

Kris sighed and hugged Zitao. “You’re not fair,” he grumbled. “You know I can’t say no to you when you use that tone.”

They planned for Kris to move in the day after Zitao’s last final exam.

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Last chapter is the last one! I'm tentatively thinking of writing a sequel…it wouldn’t be out for a while, I haven’t written anything in ages because I’m so busy (this story has been done since I posted the first chapter, I just staggered updates) so maybe I’d write it over winter break or something. It would be about Taoris’ life together and Kris meeting Zitao’s friends and stuff. IDK, I’ll only do it if I get inspired. But eother way I hope you've enjoyed the story and I hope that you're looking forward to seeing how it ends ^-^

PS I’ve been playing ‘Wow’ by BTOB on repeat ALL DAY LONG. Am I the only one?