THE BEAUTIFUL POSTER IS CREDITED TO MY LOVELY FRIEND, xiuminbaozi99 ~ THANK YOU SO MUCH SWEETIE! IT'S SO PRETTY~~~

THIS IS JUST A RANDOM LITTLE CHAPTER --- I HAVE NO FRICKIN’ IDEA WHERE IT WOULD FIT IN THE ACTUAL STORY, THIS IS JUST LIKE A ‘DAY IN THE LIFE’ KIND OF CHAPPIE TO HELP ME GET BACK IN THE FLOW OF WRITING....JUST GO WITH IT ^_^

        “Tao? You ready?” I looked up at Kris’ voice, finding his reflection in the mirror in front of me. My fingers were busy fastening my silver earring in place and I turned to flash him a smile, looking him up and down appreciatively.
        “Just give me a minute. You look great.” I said, meaning every word. I ran my hands through my hair one last time and closed the drawer next to me, walking to where Kris leaned against the bathroom doorway.
        “Luhan and Xiumin said to meet them there, and Suho and Yixing will be here in a few minutes to pick us up.” Kris said, sliding his phone in his back pocket and reaching his free hand out for mine.
        “I’m glad they’re finally back from their travels; I missed them.” I said, excited to see Suho and Yixing again after their most recent expedition. They’d only gotten back a few days ago, and Yixing and I had barely talked on the phone since then.
        I took his hand, lacing our fingers together and feeling his wedding ring pressing into my skin. I paused just a moment to snatch my own phone from the bedside table, turning it on and finding a new text from Snake.
        Ryu left his phone at home. Can you bring it tonight? Thx. ~ S
        I nodded to myself and patted Kris shoulder briefly, jogging up to the loft and grabbing Ryu’s phone from its charger, taking the stairs back down two at a time.
        “What do you think?” I asked Kris, spreading my arms wide. He eyed my loose tank top and jeans contemplatively, an impish grin raising one corner of his mouth.
        “I think I’m pretty damn lucky.” Kris smirked, reaching out to pull me close with one arm around my waist. His lips met mine briefly, my hand splayed on his chest, his muscles moving beneath the taut black fabric of his t-shirt.
        He began to pull back but I grasped his jaw with my free hand, connecting our lips for one more quick brush before smiling. Kris smiled too, huffing out a brief chuckle before burying his face in the crook of my neck. He took a deep breath, inhaling my cologne and humming appreciatively.
        “I love you.” Kris murmured, kissing the corner of my jaw gently and then pulling back. I raised his hand to my lips, kissing his knuckles softly and smiling at him.
        “I love you, too.” I said, meeting his eyes and then running my hands briefly through his short hair.
        “Did you get enough dinner?” Kris asked, looking back at me as we walked down the stairs. I rolled my eyes and chuckled, grabbing my wallet from the table by the front door and attaching the chain to one of my front belt loops. I slipped my wallet into my back pocket and briefly considered a jacket, deciding instead to the enjoy the crisp night air.
        There was a knock on the front door and I reached out to open it, pushing my feet into my high-tops and lacing them up as the door swung open.
        “Ready?” Suho asked, smiling at me. I nodded, standing up and brushing off my pants. Suho hugged me and I squeezed him tightly, patting his back.
        “It’s good to see you. You ready for some fun tonight?” I asked, getting an answering grin and nod out of Suho.
        “I am!” Yixing piped up from behind Suho, pushing past his boyfriend to also hug me. I chuckled and looked behind me for Kris, my hand resting instinctively on the door.
        He appeared a few moments later, pausing by the stairs to stomp his last shoe into place, resting his hand on the banister.
        “Hey.” Kris greeted with a wide smile, his eyes shimmering as he stooped to embrace Suho and Yixing with one arm each. When he accidentally straightened up fully, their legs dangled several inches away from the floor, kicking for a purchase.
        “Down, Kris! Down!” Suho gasped, both of them crushed to Kris’ chest. He released them abruptly with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck apologetically.
        “I missed you guys.” Kris said shyly, smiling wider when Yixing patted him on the shoulder.
        “We missed you, too!” Yixing reassured, stepping back so he was next to Suho.
        “Should we get going?” Kris asked, turning towards the door. Suho held out a hand to stop him, an excited smile playing at his lips.
        “Wait! We have a surprise for you both. We waited to tell you in person.” Suho said.
        “Ooh, what is it?” I immediately straightened up, Kris leaning against my side. His arm curled absentmindedly around my waist and we both waited in suspense before Yixing held up his left hand with a grin.
        It took me less than two seconds to focus on the gleaming band on Yixing’s ring finger, an excited squeal bursting out of my mouth.
        “You proposed?!” I exclaimed, looking at Suho and his matching ring. Suho nodded with an angelic smile and I darted forward to inspect Yixing’s ring more closely.
        It was beautiful, a dark silver metal engraved with an intricate aqueous designs that flowed smoothly along the surface of the ring. I oohed and ahed over it for a few seconds then quickly smacked Yixing’s shoulder, giving a mock-angry glare.
        “What was that for?!” Yixing squeaked, smacking me back, albeit lighter.
        “You didn’t tell me!” I pouted, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow. Yixing rolled his eyes and Suho and Kris laughed, all of us turning towards the door.
        “Come on, we’ll be late.” Suho warned, leading everyone outside. Kris pulled the door shut and locked it firmly, pocketing his keys and sliding his hand into my back pocket.
        We all piled in Suho’s car, music filling the background quietly. The sun was setting and Kris handed Suho a piece of paper with the address of our meeting place on it.
        “I am so happy for you two!” I said, pulling Yixing’s hand back so I could look more at the ring.
        “Do you have a date set yet?” Kris asked, addressing Yixing and attempting to keep me from pulling my friend’s arm off.
        “Sometime next winter. We always wanted a winter wedding, and now we’re finally getting our dream.” Yixing smiled, fixing Suho with an affectionate smile that spoke volumes.
        “Is this it?” Suho asked, pulling up to the park. I nodded, unbuckling my seatbelt and opening the car door.
        “We really could’ve just walked from our place.” I said, stretching my arms over my head and closing the door behind me.
        “No, be glad we have the car. We should go out to celebrate later.” Kris broke in, crunching through the gravel by the side of the road and onto the grass of the park.
        “God, that’s a lot of people.” Yixing said, looking at the crowd gathering already in front of the stage.
        “I told you the band was popular. Oh look---it’s Luhan and Xiumin.” I interrupted myself, waving to the two men standing in front of a nearby food truck.
        “Do they know?” Kris asked. Suho shot him a wry smile, gesturing to Yixing and I are already charging for Luhan.
        “They will soon.” Suho remarked.
        As soon as we reached Luhan, Yixing was showing off his ring and we were buying greasy street tacos and laughing together, it didn’t matter that we’d already eaten dinner.
        I excused myself briefly to go closer to the stage, finding Razor’s van parked on the grass directly behind the stage. Aero was leaning against the side of the vehicle, holding a small mirror and struggling to apply body paint to his neck.
        “Aero? It’s Tao, remember?” I said, flashing a small smile. He looked up and also grinned, flashing his many rings in a wave and wiping his color splotched fingertips on an old rag.
        “How are you?” Aero asked, reaching out shake my hand and put the mirror down on the top of the van.
        “Pretty good. Is Ryu around?” I asked. Aero looked back towards the back of the stage, nodding to Ryu and Snake sitting together on the edge, restringing the bass together.
        “A string snapped during rehearsal. You need him?” Aero asked. I shook my head, not wanting to interrupt, and pulled Ryu’s phone out of my pocket.
        “Could you give him this when you have a chance?” I asked. Aero nodded, carefully putting Ryu’s phone in his pocket and picking up the tube of body paint.
        “Hey, do you want some help with that? It’ll be easier for me to do it.” I offered, gesturing to his neck. Aero brightened, pulling a picture out of his pocket and handing it to me.
        “I’d really appreciate it, if it’s no trouble. This is the design I’m going for.” Aero gestured to the picture, tilting his head up to expose his throat to me.
        I looked down at the picture of him, the desired design drawn in sharpie over the normal image. I nodded and dipped my fingers in paint, carefully painting lines and shapes over his skin until I was satisfied with the result.
        “There you go.” I said, grabbing the mirror to show him. Aero’s eyes widened in surprise and he grinned, going to hug me before realizing he also had paint smeared on his arms.
        “Thank you!” Aero said, carefully capping the tube and looking around. “I think we’re going to start soon, you might want to find a place to stand. Thanks again.”
        “No problem! Good luck.” I smiled, waving before turning and walking back through the crowd.
        I found Kris and the others easily, all of us trying to find a good place to stand. We had long since finished our tacos and wiped our greasy hands on our pants, wishing someone had thought to get napkins.
        As soon as the sun sunk behind the last trees ringing the park, the stage lit up. Aero, Razor, Ryu, and Snake all climbed up the back, walking to their respective positions and fiddling with everything.
        “Have you been to many concerts?” Luhan asked, pulling my attention away from watching them set up. I shook my head, recounting the two we had been to and then listening to him talk about the professional concerts he had been to with Xiumin.
        “I promise, you’ve never heard anything like this band.” I said with a smile, casting a quick look around at the crowd.
        People were talking and standing around, drin