Kai can’t remember the last time he’s woken up this early. The sun was barely out, the birds chirping away at the prospect of a new day. The air smells of dew and Kai absentmindedly wraps himself tighter around his sweater; it’s pretty chilly in the morning. He groans as he sits himself up, his muscles still sore but the pain is welcoming, he hasn’t moved them in ages.

He quietly slips himself out of the room, aimlessly walking around. Ever since he arrived at the apartment he hasn’t gotten the chance to take a proper look at the place. He peeks through a room with a door opened and considers opening another room that had its door closed but thinks otherwise; he doesn’t want to be snoopy. At the kitchen he sees a pot of porridge on the stove, still warm.

Kai walks to the living room and only then does he see Tao. Tao has his back towards the door and so Kai guiltlessly stands by the entrance, quietly watching the Chinese man.  He’s in a stretching position of some sort, legs bent and arms outstretched in front of him. He keeps this pose for a few seconds before turning his body left and right, warming himself up. He turns around to reach for his towel and only then spots Kai at the entrance, watching him.

Kai didn’t even bother to wash his face before walking around the apartment, how cute, Tao thinks. Like a puppy. Tao laughs under his breath and softly pushes him to the direction of the bathroom. Kai gets the hint and sticks out his tongue before stepping in, closing the door behind him.

It feels…. stable, and horribly domestic, having Kai around the apartment. Normally it’s just Tao alone; Kris barely has time for a cup of tea before he’s out of the door, busy on the phone talking over some new project. Tao doesn’t even get bothered over it anymore, he knows Kris wants to spend time with him but can’t, he needs to handle his business.

With Kai around and the job of taking care of him falls on Tao, Tao finds himself falling back to his old pattern of getting up early to cook breakfast, making sure there’s food when it’s time for lunch and dinner.  He knows Kai doesn’t ask of it from him, but Kai in general doesn’t ask much from him. He’s quiet and wary as he accepts any form of hospitality from Tao and he can’t really blame him; they barely know each other.

Sometimes Sehun comes over for dinner and Tao is graced with wide smiles and laughter from Kai. He’s a tad bit jealous of the relationship they have, how Sehun can easily go from teasing Kai to lightly punching him on the shoulder, laughing at a joke Kai made that everyone knows is not funny. It’s warm, and Tao hasn’t really been around something like this for so long. But he knows he doesn’t belong in their little bubble, so he politely excuses himself after he’s done eating and quietly retreats to his room. Sometimes Sehun will sleep on the couch in Kai’s room, sometimes he’ll go back even if it’s a little late.

Tao doesn’t say anything when he sees Kai enter his room one day after dinner. He waits for the younger one to say something, and it isn’t until his presence is half forgotten by Tao does he say something, figure slightly fidgeting as he stands near the door, not even taking a step closer to Tao.

“I’m more than grateful to you for taking care of me, but I’m better now. I should go, before I trouble you anymore.”

Tao doesn’t look at Kai as he pretends to search for something in his closet. He makes a sound of approval and Kai is quiet, as if he’s waiting for Tao to continue.

Tao doesn’t say anything, not really knowing what to say. They barely know each other, didn’t even talk much during Kai’s stay. They had their moments, like when Kai had tugged on the hem of his shirt, looking at his feet as he asked Tao to help him shampoo his head because his arms hurt. Tao had thought he was too cute, like a little brother he never had. Dinner was always a quiet affair, but it was calming. Kai munching away and commenting here and there, saying he should add more flavor to this and that. What do you know about cooking, Tao had teased and Kai stuck out his tongue, impudent like the annoying kid he is.

“You’re always welcomed here, Kai.”

Tao hears footsteps approaching him but before he could turn around he feels arms around his torso, a head resting on his shoulder.

“You’re so warm, despite your looks. I… I want to get to know you better, Tao!” It was said in such a cute and sincere manner that Tao couldn’t help but to turn around and ruffle Kai’s hair despite his pout and whine of how serious he is with his request. Tao laughs as Kai pouts even more.

“Let me walk you home, Kai.”

[+]

The walk was filled with Kai whining for them to stop at a little shop so that he could buy ice cream for the both of them. Tao obliged, and laughed in respond to Kai’s following request which was for them to walk together at a park nearby before they head to Kai’s house.

“The moon is pretty and there’s a nice breeze, we really shouldn’t waste this evening!” Kai had said to convince Tao as he skipped ahead to the park and Tao didn’t even bother to tell him that he didn’t need convincing, the mere fact that Kai wanted to spend more time with Tao made him too happy. Kai is like a bubble of happiness and Tao can’t help it, he finds himself a little eager as he falls into step with Kai, mood as cheerful as the younger one.

They talked about a lot of things. Well, mostly Kai talked and Tao nodded when appropriate, laughing when Kai got a little too animated. He told Tao of how he got close to Sehun, how Sehun had bought a puppy for his mother’s birthday only to find out his mother is allergic to it and Kai had offered to take care of it for him. Kai even took out his phone to show the little poodle to Tao, and it looked cute, Tao saying the poodle resembled its owner. Kai had pinched his arm and Tao poked his side in return, laughing at their antics. From afar they look like childhood friends, and the thought made Tao smile even wider.

They finally arrive at Kai’s house after walking a few minutes from the train station. Tao watches as Kai fumbles through his bag for his key and frowns when he finds the door unlocked.

“Mother never leaves the door unlocked,” Kai says under his breath and Tao instantly feels himself more alert as they walk through the dark house, pulling Kai closer to himself as they walk to the kitchen, the only room in the house that’s lit up.

Kai gasped as he sees the scene in his kitchen, Tao glaring at the person waiting for them. It’s one of the people from the Red Tiger gang, the gang that had attacked Kai when he was selling drugs at their turf without knowledge. Tao knows he’s from the same gang because they all have the same mark; a small tattoo in the shape of a tiger at their wrist. The man had an older woman in his grasp, and Tao assumed it was Kai’s mother. Tao takes a step closer to try to release the woman but the man took out a gun, placing it near her temple.

Tao stopped in his steps and Kai cried out. He holds Kai firmly to his side despite his protests, they were both unarmed and this could turn out ugly, real fast. The man in front of them smirked and Tao wanted nothing more than to punch it out of his face.

“Tell your leader this is what he gets for messing with us,” the man says in Chinese and they watch in horror as he fires a bullet to the woman’s arm, just like how Kris had shot one of their man to save Kai. Kai screamed and ran over to his mother who had fallen to the ground after the man had released his grip, crying in pain. The man steps over Kai’s mother to walk towards Tao, the smirk on his face clearly visible as he stands beside Tao.

“See you next time, Tao,” he says before walking off. Tao considers going after him, to punch him or kick him for doing such horrid things just to give a warning but he knows this isn’t the way. This isn’t a personal attack, this is an attack from a gang to another gang and he knows that man didn’t come alone; he must have others waiting for him outside. Tao must inform Kris as soon as possible.

“What do we do, Tao?” Kai asked as he cradles his mother in his arms. She’s losing too much blood because of the bullet and she’s starting to lose consciousness. Tao carefully takes her in his arms, carrying her to the car he saw parked in front of Kai’s house.

“Take your mother’s car keys, we’re driving her to the hospital.”

[+]

“We have to avenge her, Kris!”

It had been a week since Tao last saw Kai. He had left because Kai told him to leave them alone in the hospital, and Tao didn’t want to make him anymore upset. Kai’s mother had a surgery to remove the bullet and is progressively getting better, Sehun had reported to him today. Tao hadn’t gone to see Kai himself because he was scared. He was scared Kai would push him away because this had partially been the gang’s fault. Tao was scared he had ruined their friendship that was only starting to blossom.

“Of course we do, this is an attack to the gang. Poor kid, he shouldn’t be involved this way,” Kris replied and Tao punched the wall, frustrated with the whole situation. Kai is a victim and they hate how he’s getting dragged in this gang war that’s been going on for too long.

“We need to settle this once and for all,” Tao says and Kris nods in agreement. They can’t have more people getting hurt because of this.

The door to Kris’ office suddenly burst open and they’re surprised to see Kai step in, out of breath and fists clenched in anger as he walks over to Kris and Tao. “I want to help,” he says.

“It’s too risky, we’re going against a gang with more manpower than us, I can’t put your life in danger,” Kris replies apologetically.

“I don’t care. They did this to my mother. I want to have my revenge!” Kai shouts to Kris and they’re all stunned; nobody has ever defied Kris before. Rage clouds better judgment but if channeled the right way, could be a powerful weapon.  Kris nods after a while of contemplation, frowning at Tao, silently not pleased with the way this is going.

“You need to be trained, we’re going against a strong enemy. You need to know what we’re going up against,” Tao says, finally looking Kai in the eyes. Kai looks back, a small smile on his face. He looks small and frighten, but his will is strong. Tao reaches over to pat Kai on his back, just to let him know he’s there for Kai. The younger one nods in return, before turning his gaze to Kris.

“I want to join you. I want to be in your gang.”

[+]

a/n: i'm so sorry for not updating sooner ;_; i'm the worst, i know ;_; also, short chapter. again, the worst ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 

p/s: remember when i said i was busy with something? uhmmmm i was writing angsty kaisoo for this challenge >.> if you're interested~