Bap. Bap. Bap. Bap.

The rhythmic sound of a red basketball bounced off the clear four walled basketball court. The court was a good place for him to spend his spare time. A place where he could train to be better, to become better, to sharpen his skills. It was a place where he would not be disturbed. 

Picking up his speed, Kris Wu bounced the ball expertly to the left side of the court. His legs headed for one thing he was aiming for. The bucket. The said bucket stood there, tall and ready for him to chuck in the ball perfectly.

The first throw came and it went straight in the bucket. Catching the ball and dribbling it in a half circle, Kris made another round and ran up to pull a lay up before pitching the ball in the bucket perfectly again. This went on for almost a half hour before he decided to take a rest.

Taking big gulps of cold mineral water greedily, Kris emptied the bottle in a blink of an eye. After that, he grabbed his towel to wipe away blinking droplets of sweat trickling down his face and his whole body. Giving a short glance at a clock hanging on the wall, he deemed it already time for him to take his leave. Packing up everything, Kris hit for the showers and a few minutes later, he was taking his time to stroll his way back to his house.

It was a sunny day and he decided to take a detour to a nearby snackbar before heading back home. It wasn't that far from the basketball court he often occupied, so he made it there in just a short time.

And so his day ended just like any other day.

A few weeks passed and one day (when he was out for practice again), Kris was surprised to find the door leading to the basketball court opened already. He suddenly wondered if he'd forgotten to lock the doors the day before, but he doubted that because he'd always check twice before leaving.

The moment his fingers touched the blue panelled door, he pushed it open cautiously. He didn't know what to expect and just hoped he wouldn't be caught off guard by whoever had managed to open the door. He was, after all, the only one who had solely access to the basketball court. He took a step forward and let his eyes scan the 'empty' court, before he finally let them settle on a lone figure in the middle of the court, clad in only his basketball outfit, shooting a couple of balls by himself.

At that very moment, his interest piqued and something invisible tugged him inside. Kris made his way to an empty seat at the top of the row of benches quietly and merely let his eyes take in the sight in front of him. Something appealing attracted him, but he didn't know how to describe the feeling. Something inside him screamed that he wanted to get to know the stranger and yet he didn't want to make his presence known yet. Just watching the figure for now was enough for him. He decided then that he liked what he was seeing.

The way the tall and lean body worked his way around the court was what Kris liked first. It was quite amazing, he must add to himself. The other's skills weren't that bad at all, but it could use some extra training here and there. Maybe he could do a one on one some time with the other, if the latter didn't mind of course. Kris was sure the other wouldn't.

Kris didn't know how long he'd been watching the teen and seemed to have forgotten totally about the time if it wasn't for his cellphone vibrating in his pocket, shaking him out of his reverie. He'd been watching the other with quite some interest and didn't even notice that he'd been doing that in the first place. Tugging the phone out of his pocket, he glanced at the screen. A text message.

It was a message from his friend asking him to go out and eat with the crew. It was already seven PM and there was no way he was going to make it in time for dinner if he was going to shoot some balls, so he decided to just leave. There went a wasted day for him, not able to do any self training. Maybe tomorrow, he decided. He'd be back tomorrow.

He left as quietly as he'd appeared in the court, hoping that the other hadn't been disturbed. It for him though, to have wasted such a good day to train. But, at least he'd seen the other play and somehow he secretly wished for the other to be there too the next day.

Another throw and maybe he could break his own record.

Running straight to the other side of the court, Tao hoped to score another ball. Wind caressed his already dampened cheeks. His hair danced happily to every step he took. Tao felt as light as a feather. It felt great. He felt free. Free from everything. Nothing could bother him now. Playing basketball was one thing which made him feel good, make him feel like he was the only one who existed.

Getting closer to the bucket, he calculated the time when to stop and make his throw. When he deemed it ready, he paused his running and jumped, letting his arms do the rest of the work. His eyes locked on the bucket and he aimed for it.

But, he was suddenly pulled out of his focus by something passing him. He skidded to a stop, just in time before he could kiss the floor and whirled around to look at whatever had interrupted him. Blinking at his now empty hands, it had yet to occur to him what had just happened.

"Aha! One score for me!,"

A sudden triumphant voice rang in his head. What the? Dribbling sounds of the basketball echoed through the whole court and that was when a much taller person came into Tao's line of vision. Tao's slanted eyes widened slightly at the sudden unexpected stranger.

Tall, well built, y and blonde...

... with a smirk on his face...

was what went through Tao's mind. Suddenly, he felt intimidated by the other's taller figure. Taking a cautious step backwards, he eyed the other warily.

"Not bad,"

Bap. Bap. Bap. Bap.

Kris dribbled the ball in a slow pace before coming to a stop in front of him, the ball poisted on the right hip with one hand while the other hand gave a slight wave. Tao didn't reply immediately. He still didn't want to introduce himself yet. 

"How about another round? One on one?," Kris opted. Tao shrugged carelessly.

"Let's go then,"

Running feet, screeching basketball shoes skidding through the neatly, polished floor, passing and stealing the crazy bouncing ball, just so one of them could make a score, went on for almost fifteen minutes. Both of the lads didn't want to give in and lose. They have to score, that was important.

The match, even though not an official one, was taken quite seriously and if it were under different circumstances, they would've been giving the spectators a really nice and intriguing match. It didn't take long for Kris to score eight points already in such a short amount of time. He needed just one more shot and he'd win the game. He could call himself a winner again. 

When the last score was settled, Kris gave a victory punch in the air and Tao simply fell flat down on the floor, exhausted and beyond angry. Trying to gulp in as much of oxygen as he could, he ignored the throbbing pain in his side. He had to give the other credit though. The other was pretty good. Tao himself acknowledged that he was a good player, but the other was... a great player.

Taking a minute to calm down his thumping heart, Tao shut his eyes. It always calmed him down whenever he did that. When he could feel the beats slowly coming to a steady pace, Tao wondered where it went wrong. How could he have lost to someone like Kris? Frankly speaking, how could he even lose to someone. In his whole life, Tao had managed to win most of his matches and when the other had opted for a match, Tao had never thought he'd be on the losing end. Where did it go wrong? What did he do wrong?

Sensing a sudden presence, Tao's closed eyes flew open to find Kris looking down at him with a smug look. Tao wished he could wipe that smug off of the other's face, but he was too tired to care.

"Tired already?," Kris almost taunted.

"Tch," Tao snorted turning to look away from the other.

"You're not bad. Only need to work on your condition and your aim," Kris commented.

Tao blinked. Was the other actually telling him what to do? Who was he to tell Huang Zitao what to do?

"Whatever,"

Kris frowned. That was not what he had expected.

And that was their first encounter. 

The second time they met each other, Kris had found it amusing to see the other angry again. He didn't quite understand why the other was so angry, but he found it cute anyway. Sure Tao lost to him countless times, but that was no reason for the other to be angry with him, right? Kris had nonetheless tried to strike a conversation with the other. He really wanted to get to know the other and what ways could he do then while playing basketball against the other?

But sadly, Kris never got anything more than a few 'whatever's' and 'tch's' and maybe occasionally 'I'm fine's'. This went on for quite a few weeks, until Kris decided to make a stop to it.

Sending the red ball into the bucket once again, Kris pumped his fist in the air excitedly, then turned to look at the other who paid no attention to him and just lay down on the floor, totally exhausted. Kris made his way over to the other as he felt something crawl into his chest. A tingling sensation made him feel all giddy all of a sudden and the urge to get closer to the other hit him.

Kris wanted to know more about the other. He wanted to learn more about the other boy. He wanted to unravel the boy, have the boy exposed from anything that the other was holding back, that the other was keeping from him and the outside world so as to protect himself. And for now, luring the other out of his shell and having the boy start a match with him has been everything Kris could do.

When he finally came to a stop, Kris had both his feet on either side of Tao's lying and relaxed body. Lowering himself till he was practically sitting on the other's belly, Kris locked eyes with the other. He didn't know what overcame him, but he suddenly felt the urge to do something and that something he did indeed.

"My, my... you really are a beauty... Kris clucked his tongue.

"You aren't bad yourself," Tao snorted almost immediately.

"Any interest in going out with me?," Kris asked.

"Not interested," Tao snapped.

"Too bad... You have no choice, cause I will make you," Kris smirked.

He almost smirked in amusement when the other's eyes widened in surprise and shock.  He had the other cornered just like he wanted it.

"Next week. Re-match, same time, same place. I win, you are my date," Kris decided.

"I win, you eat my foot," Tao almost snapped immediately.

A boisterous laugh echoed through the empty court. Somehow it had been quite amusing for Kris, he couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably at the other's answer. Tao was really an interesting person and Kris liked that. Very much.

Tao was nervous for the first time since he'd started playing basketball against the other. Hearing that oh so deep and y laugh erupting out of the other's mouth, Tao couldn't help but feel a shudder run through his spine. It made him uneasy and uncomfortable. He wished he could push the other away, throw the other off of him, but he was in a state of shock and incapable of moving his stupid limbs. Nothing seemed to register in his mind. He could only see the other laugh heartily at him.

Why did the other make him feel like that. His stomach made all kinds of weird saltos and Tao felt his inside constrict. It was as if he was paralyzed and that was a bad sign. A sign he couldn't control and didn't know what it was. He really needed to get away fast!

Suddenly he got up, pushing the other away in the process. Ignoring the hurt look the other sent him, he got up from his position and practically made a run for it. Grabbing his stuff, he didn't even turn back, Tao exited the court without saying anything to Kris.

After the sudden awkward encounter, Tao dreaded going to the court again. He really wished he could just ditch the whole baskball re-match, but he was a man of pride. A man who would keep to his words (even though he hadn't really agreed on having a re-match) and would never let the opponent intimidate him. But, this was... different. This was... Kris. Tao really didn't know what to think of the other now. After last week's encounter, he was suddenly wondering if it shouldn't be more safe for him to stay away from the latter. It would safe him a lot of trouble.

But, then again Tao didn't want to chicken out, because the other might think that he was a . And he, Huang ZiTao, would never say no to a battle of winning, even if it was just a basketball game.

Finally the day of the re-match came and Tao felt the familiar knots in his stomach. He was getting nervous already. Fearing that the other would win and he had no choice but to go on a date with the other. Tao swallowed in his fear as he entered the court. He breathed a sigh of relief when the door was still locked. He was early, so he could take some time to practice before the devil himself would appear.

His peace didn't last for long though, because the taller one had arrived right on time, albeit two minutes later than him. Kris ignored the scowl on his face as he smiled at him. Tao didn't even make any attempts to greet the other.

"Ready?," Kris asked.

"Ready when you are," 

The re-match started without a word. Both boys ran, trying to get the ball from each other and make the first few points, not one word was said. The heated match almost turned into a violent one, but Kris didn't mind. He was still taking the lead. It felt great, to have such an opponent as Tao, so fierce and determined. And the thought of him getting the other closer to himself made Kris determined all the more to win the re-match.

It was currently 8 points for Kris and 7 for Tao. 

Tao was heading closer to him and Kris had to act quickly. It didn't take long before Kris ended the match with a perfect three-pointer. Screaming out in victory, once again, he never noticed the other becoming all pale and sagged down on the floor. He'd have his first date with the other.

"You cheated!," Tao squeeked out.

Even though he knew damn well the other didn't, Tao just didn't want to accept his loss. He didn't want to go on a date with the other! He didn't want to be close to the other! He didn't even want to be seen with the other! And yet, his heart told him otherwise. Stupid odd feeling!

"Aw, come on... just accept your defeat," Kris commented as he turned to look at the other with a smile.

Did the other really dislike him that much?

Heading closer to the crestfallen boy, Kris felt a little bad for forcing the other, but he shoved the feeling away. The other's beauty had captured his heart the very first time he'd seen the other in the basketball court. And Kris knew he wanted the boy. He wanted to have the boy. 

"Hey, don't be sad. It's just a... get to know each other... moment... or something. Not a date, ok?," Kris decided to have some pity on the poor lad, seeing the other all shocked and scared right now. "If we can't have a good conversation with each other, then you can just say it,"

After a minute's hesitation, Tao finally relented and decided to give it a try. Kris did a mental victory dance.

Tao had never thought the other was actually good company, even great company. The taller lad was a good listener too and patient with him, unlike people he'd known. Kris was different. Kris was something else. And for the first time since he'd met the other, Tao was actually enjoying the other's presence. Both he and Kris had spent such a great time together, he hadn't even noticed it was late already and he needed to be at home before ten or else his mother would be worried. 

The next time he and Kris had a match, they were more playful than serious. This was the result of both finally coming to a mutual understanding between each other and Tao slowly opening up to the other. Each passing week became passing days as their one on one matches became more of a training for both than a game of winner and loser. It gradually evolved into a time both liked to spend together rather than go out with their other friends.

And somewhere, along the way, Kris had finally gathered all his courage to ask the other out on an official date, because all the other times were merely 'basketball dates' to him and to make the other believe his feelings, he'd taken the very first step he'd never thought he'd take in his whole life. And that was to become a pair with the other lad.

Fin

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A/N:

Omo! What have I written? I don't even know anymore. I've tried to make it sound as beautiful as I have in my head, but somehow I ended up typing something else instead. This always happens to me. OTL OTL OTL.

Anyways, I hope you guys liked the story. Please do comment and let me know what you think, subscribe and upvote. Thank you very much for taking your time to read :) Love you guys. And Happy Valentine'S Day <3