The Neighbor - Kris x Tao - 04/?
Title: The Neighbor
Chapters: 04/?
Author: paranoiascreams
Genre: smut, angst
Warning: unbeta'd
Rating: PG-13
Pairings/Characters: Kris x Tao
Synopsis: Tao is a dedicated employee of an advertising company living a routinary life until his sexy new neighbor moves next door and turns his life upside down.
Disclaimer: Own no one but the story. I would like Yifan to own me.
[01] [02] [03]
"You know, we could have gone here at the same time. I dropped by the apartment to get my stuff and you were already gone?"
Tao looks up to see Yifan walking up to him near the boarding gate while Jongdae talks to someone over the phone. The younger smiles and Yifan hands him a cup of coffee, "I didn't sleep at home last night."
Yifan turns to him with a raised brow, "But you were just texting me about going home late!"
Tao shrugs and chuckles against the styro cup, "I guess I didn't make it."
Yifan squints his eyes and immediately grabs the cup from Tao - much to the younger's surprise. The photographer then pulls down Tao's collars and starts sniffing him like a dog, "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Did you have sex last night?!"
Tao pushes Yifan away and slaps his head, "Don't be ridiculous!"
"I go out of town for the weekends and you start seeing guys I don't know?! You said you were just out with your brother!"
"You sound like my mother! Besides," Tao grins and crosses his arm over Yifan's body to take back his cup that the photographer placed on the empty seat next to him, "If I did go on a date last night, and maybe got laid, what is it to you?"
"That will be gross."
Tao huffs and Yifan laughs, "Why would you date your brother?"
"You're so stupid." Tao chuckles and Yifan wraps an arm over Tao's shoulder to pull him closer, "I got you something, by the way."
Tao looks at him sideways and Yifan pulls out a panda cellphone charm from his pocket, "I took my niece on a date last Saturday and this reminded me of you."
"Thank you." Tao takes the gift and hands Yifan his coffee. He takes out his phone and attaches the charm on it, "It's cute." The younger chuckles and takes back the coffee, "Which means I'm cute, right?"
"Awww... you two are such a cute couple."
The two turns to see Jongdae and Luhan gushing over them and Tao glares at his assistant while Yifan raises his middle finger at Jongdae.
Yifan retracts his arm around Tao and leans on the chair more comfortably, "So? Who's your date last night?"
"I didn't have a date."
Yifan stares at Tao and pinches the younger's nose, "You're lying!"
"Maybe." Tao flicks Yifan's forehead before standing up when their flight is called. Inside the plane, Tao sits by the window and stares at the runway.
He hates flying.
His parents died in a plane crash and the trauma never really left. This is why he let only Luhan go during out of the country work and his office thinks it's because he's afraid of heights, "Oh well..." he sighs and when he turns to talk to Luhan, Yifan is grinning at him.
"WHERE IS LUHAN? HOW DARE YOU EAT MY ASSISTANT?!"
"Shh! They'll find out I'm a cannibal!"
"You idiot." Tao chuckles and he feels slightly more at ease about flying for some reason. Tao grips on his seat's arm when the plane starts to take off and Yifan notices this. The photographer leans closer and whispers, "Afraid of flying?"
Tao nods and just as silently replies with the word, "P... parents."
Yifan puts his hand over Tao's and locks it with his own, "Breathe, sunshine. We will be fine."
Tao breathes a sigh of relief when the plane safely takes off the runway and he releases Yifan's hand to finally look out the window again - now boasting with the cloud-woven sky.
"So... who was your date last night?"
Tao laughs and turns to see Yifan just a little too close to his face. He pushes the older's head away from him and rolls his eyes, "Are you not gonna stop asking, mother?"
"Nope."
Tao chuckles and looks at Yifan, "I didn't go on a date. But it was nice to see Henry again. Am I ever thankful I am finally over my breakouts!?"
"Who the fuck's Henry?"
"My brother's best friend from high school. He flew in from Canada and he's in Shanghai until the end of the month. He was my childhood crush and he's still so cute like a little hamster." Tao sighs dreamily and Yifan scoffs, "You are such a girl."
"I don't care. There was a lot of flirting involved and I just couldn't go home. Even my brother is supporting this "potential" new beginning."
Yifan crosses his arms over his chest and rolls his eyes as he mumbles, "In that Henry's fucking dream."
"Did you say something?"
"Nothing. Just start listening to them ladies." Yifan points at the flight attendants starting their demo for emergency landings and the photographer ignores them and rather observes just how eager Tao is listening to the instructions. Yifan chuckles and whispers, "Shall this plane crash, I'll make sure to save you."
Tao smiles without taking his eyes off the attendant, "Please make sure you do."
Yifan gives Tao's hand a slight squeeze before listening to the attendant. The photographer dozes off after eating while Tao reads a book to take his mind off of things as the plane flies across the sky.
Tao is ever glad when they finally make it to the island and he settles immediately in the room he'll be sharing with Luhan. "Did you call Sehun? Will he be here?"
Luhan smiles at him while the older male unpacks, "I dont know. He said he's unsure if he can get a leave off work but he hopes we can fly off to Seoul instead."
Tao stretches his arms and lies on the bed, spread-eagle, "How does this long distance relationship work?"
"We jerk off via Skype."
"Luhan, please."
Luhan chuckles and Tao checks his phone. He sighs when he finds nothing of importance and closes his eyes to try and get some rest.
"What's with you and Kris?"
"We're friends. Ok friends, I guess."
Tao feels the bed dip next to him and Luhan fixes his bangs. The younger opens his eyes to find Luhan smiling at him, "Are you happy?"
"I'm okay. Why do you ask?"
"I came post-Eden incident, and I guess I never really saw you happy. As in literally happy. Is Kris making you happy?"
"He is my friend and he does. So does all of you in the office."
Luhan tilts his head to the side and raises an eyebrow, "You aren't dating? You two are really cute together."
Tao scrunches his nose and shrugs, "It's a little complicated."
Their conversation is interrupted when there's a knock on the door. Luhan stands to open it and is quickly pushed aside when a half-naked, board shorts-wearing Kris walks in, "Yo, sunshine! Let's hit the beach!"
"Go away." Tao laughs and turns away from Yifan. The photographer grins and pulls Tao by the feet and the younger screams, "WU YIFAN!!!" And the younger kicks Yifan away, the photographer climbs on the bed and chaos ensues.
Luhan laughs at the squabble and Jongdae steps inside the room just in time to catch Yifan trying to take off Tao's shirt while straddling the younger boy, "I didn't know there's some weird kink porn shit going down here. We were just gonna pick you both so we can hit the beach."
"I'm going! I'm going!!! Get off me, Yifan!"
Luhan leans closer to Jongdae and whispers, "They're a lot closer than I thought."
"They're neighbors, didn't Tao tell you? And they had an interesting first meeting so I guess it makes their friendship kind of extra special?"
Luhan shrugs and smiles, "As long as he's happy."
Tao ushers Yifan and Jongdae out of their room once he has composed himself and the photographer has laughed his head dry, "We're gonna go change. God, 1st day at work and we're already slacking off."
Luhan checks his watch and shakes his head, "No. Remember that during the meeting, we were supposed to arrive on Tuesday while Alexandria comes by Wednesday with the models? Amber called me and asked us to be all moved a day ahead, a little r & r thank you gift for getting Kris. I guess you're too happy lately to notice the chabge in flights."
"Thanks for making me less guilty about this. But, man, Alexandria's one generous company isn't it?" Tao smiles and Luhan shrugs, "They are willing to pay for Kris' services." His assistant closes the door after they see Yifan and Jongdae turn to the corner of the hallway.
"You know, this trip can be very... life-changing." Jongdae starts as they walk to the hotel's entrance. Yifan just hums a response as he adjusts his camera's setting before putting it inside a waterproof case, "Yo, Yifan... wanna know who your model is?"
Yifan scrunches his brows and shakes his head 'no'. He lights up a cigarette and takes a picture with his camera, "You know I don't care about the models. They arrive on Wednesday, we shoot them 'til Friday, and then we're out. Alexandria is a done deal and I can finally just settle down in Shanghai quietly. No clients after Alexandria, okay?!"
Jongdae sighs and just watches the scenery before him, "You're just running away. You ran away from Guangzhou to avoid Kyungsoo, to stop being Kris for a bit."
"Jongdae, it's a 3-year relationship. We're broken up, what? 2 and a half months? I may seem like an unemotional and robotic person but I loved Kyungsoo. I may still be in love with him, who knows? That's why I didn't want to work, ok?!"
"Sorry, did we interrupt?"
Yifan and Jongdae turns to see Tao and Luhan standing by the entrance and the photographer shakes his head, "I need some air. Sorry, Tao. I'll catch up with you in a bit." Yifan kills his cigarette and walks away from the trio. "I'm sorry, I think I killed his mood." Jongdae apologizes and Luhan tells him it's okay.
Tao looks at the direction where Yifan is headed and pats Luhan on the shoulder, "I... I'm gonna talk to him. We'll catch up with you." Tao smiles and runs after Yifan.
"Yifan!"
The photographer turns around to find Tao catching up to him, "Tao, I need..."
"You need a friend. I'm here."
Yifan rolls his eyes and smirks, "I cant win against you, can I?"
"Nope." Tao drags Yifan by the arm and they enter the nearest café. They sit outside where there aren't other patrons and Tao orders their drinks. They stay silent for a moment and when their drinks arrive, Tao finally starts, "So, I mean, we didn't mean to overhear, but is it really the main reason you weren't accepting clients, to get over a break up?"
"Yeah. I played around, but I loved Kyungsoo. I just... you know, I thought, he was gonna stay forever and be patient enough until I come around but he left. He said my work ate all our time together and while I was still thinking of getting back together with him, I found out he's dating some rookie model."
"He's probably just a rebound, Yifan. It's only been a few months, things can turn around. It could have been worse."
"Worse? I came home from work, like, I was in Guam for 2 weeks and I arrived home to Kyungsoo waiting in the living room with all his bags packed. He told me he couldn't take it anymore and just left. He just wanted to tell me personally."
"At least he did. My ex? You know, Eden? He broke up with me through a post card. Yeah. A fucking post card from Puerto Rico or something."
"A what? Is that why it's called the Eden incident?!"
Tao laughs and nods his head, "Well, not particularly, but, you see, we've been together for 5 years. We were college lovers and we moved to Shanghai together, we interned together in our company and things were going great. I got absorbed in the company, he went off to pursue his 'artistic' dreams. It took off, like, his galleries and exhibits are sold out, he goes to different countries to do inspirational speeches and stuff, things like that." Tao scoffs and takes a sip of his coffee, "I... I packed his bags for his trip to Puerto Rico. I gave him head before we left the apartment and even drove him to the airport and 4 days later I got a cheap postcard via EMS from that country that says," Tao moves his fingers in 'quoting' motions, "I hinder his imagination, that he needs space and that he loves me. And, get this, he says, 'If you love and support me, you will not contact me again.' And that was the start of the infamous Eden Incident."
Yifan chuckles and shrugs his shoulders, "I... I don't know what to say. Eden... wow. Such an asshole."
"YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SAY THAT. I LOVE HIM." Tao laughs, "Or so I would say, if this is a year ago or so."
"You make me feel good, Tao."
"What? With my misery in the past? Glad I could lift your spirits."
"I'd like to know more details about this Eden Incident but let's save it for next time, okay? I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need a lot of it while we're here."
Tao smiles, "Well then, shall we head to the beach? This is your idea, after all."
"Yeah. I need to see you naked again."
Tao laughs and kicks Yifan's leg from under the table, "You douche!"
"Come on! Water's awesome!" Jongdae yells from the sea while Luhan is reading a book under an umbrella and lying on a beach blanket, "You can dump your stuff here and swim. I'm not swimming. I hate open waters."
"Okay." Tao drops his small pouch on the blanket while Yifan waits for him. "You sure you're not swimming?" Tao asks again and Luhan nods. The younger takes off his shirt and Yifan drags him to the water. The two of them joins Jongdae and the assistant is smiling at them, "I rarely do this but I'm sorry about earlier, Yifan."
"Forget it. And thank the Eden Incident."
"The what?"
Tao chuckles from next to Yifan, "Don't mind him, Jongdae."
"Hey, sunshine."
Tao turns to Yifan and the photographer takes his picture, "Yifan!"
"What? You're my muse!"
Tao turns red and splashes water at Yifan before swimming away. Jongdae glares at Yifan and clears his throat, "He's your muse? Yifan..."
"What is it this time?"
"Your muse. You should remember how Kyungsoo and you started." Jongdae pats Yifan's arm as he watches Tao swim away.
"Oh. Fuck." Yifan gasps and watches Tao looking at the horizon. The photographer turns to Jongdae with wide eyes, "Don't. Let us not talk about this. I'm... I'm gonna figure this out. Just... Tao and I are friends."
"Fine. I hope things will turn up okay." Jongdae smiles and swims away.
"YIFAN! COME ON!" Tao yells from a distance away and Yifan swims towards him, "Hey, Mr. Photographer, think you can let me take photos of you this time?"
Jongdae watches the two interact and how Yifan teaches Tao how to work the camera. The assistant swims back to the shore and joins Luhan, "Hate being the third wheel?"
Jongdae chuckles and Luhan sets his book aside, "You think they'll hook up? I can see the sexual tension."
"We'll see by the end of this week. Yifan... he says he's going through a break up and..."
"Tao can be a rebound. I see. I have a good sense with these kinds of things and things will come around on those two."
The four of them have lunch and explore the island together. By dinner, they enjoy seafood and some cocktails to cap the night. They walk back to the hotel after, Jongdae and Luhan goes ahead and leaves the other two behind, "So, see you tomorrow. Jia and the rest of her team will be here by then. I guess, real work starts tomorrow."
"That's true. Good night, sunshine."
Tao smiles and gives Yifan a brief hug, "Thanks. I had fun today."
"This sounds like a date ending."
Tao chuckles and shrugs his shoulders, "It does, doesn't it?"
Yifan crosses his arms and bites his lower lip, "You flirt."
"You're flirting back."
Yifan takes a deep breath and walks closer to the other, "That... I am."
Tao looks up at Yifan and holds his breath. The other inches tentatively but it's cut off when Tao's phone's rings. Yifan steps back, tells his good night and crosses the hall. He's opening his door and hears Tao greet the other person on the line.
"Henry?!"
Yifan now hates two people in Tao's life.
-----
"You should get up. Something wrong?" Luhan looks at Tao who's still lying on the bed.
"Luhan... I..."
"What's wrong?"
Tao covers his face with his hand and starts sobbing, "I'm in love."
"With whom?" Luhan raises an eyebrow and continues, "You were all gushy and mushy with Kris and giggling like a high school girl on the phone last night."
"With..."
Their conversation is cut off again when there's a knock on the door. Luhan stands to open it and Tao immediately wipes his face with the blanket, "Yo, sunshine! Breakfast!"
"I'll go down later."
"No. Now! I'm hungry!" Yifan pulls Tao's blanket and the younger screams and scrambles a pillow he can use to cover his face, "Sunshine, what's wrong?"
"Bad dream." Tao mumbles under the pillow, "You can go ahead. I'm skipping breakfast."
Yifan looks at Luhan and Jongdae and motions them to leave the room. Yifan sighs and pats Tao's back in a comforting manner, "Sunshine, you cheered me up yesterday, let me return the favor. What's wrong? Did Henry break your heart already because I swear to god, there will be blood and I would be more than happy to hurt that little hamster."
Tao chuckles and removes the pillow from his face, "I look so horrible!" He yells and sits up in front of the photographer.
"Still the little sunshine I know." Yifan smiles and pinches Tao's cheek, "So, what's the problem?"
"Just a little dilemma. Well, not really. Just a little confused. Anyway, okay! Breakfast?"
"Yes. Oh. And you might want to wash your face or something."
"Why?"
"According to Jongdae from Luhan, Alexandria's team is almost here and will be joining us for breakfast."
Tao screams and tackles Yifan on the bed, "You could have mentioned that earlier!!!"
"MORNING BREATH! MORNING BREATH!"
Tao breathes on Yifan's face before jumping off the bed and rushing to the bathroom to freshen up. He returns to the room with Yifan watching TV, "You really hate shirts, huh?"
"Yeah. Loathe them." Yifan responds without taking his eyes off the TV, Tao giggles and throws Yifan's shirt back to him, "You can put them back on now. I'm ready and I'm hungry."
Yifan turns off the TV and puts on the shirt. The two of them joins Luhan and Jongdae for breakfast. Tao notices Amber and Jia in the table as well, "Hi. Sorry we're late."
"Nevermind that. Please, let's eat before we start the discussion of the whole concept."
"The models arrive tomorrow, right?" Tao asks and Luhan nods. Amber cuts off, "Except for the male model. He's gonna fly in later this afternoon. He's a surfer and he says he wants to see the beach at least."
"A surfer model, huh?" Yifan comments and turns to Jongdae, his assistant shrugs his shoulders and mouths, 'You said you didnt want to know!'
After breakfast, the team separates in two, Yifan and Jongdae joins Jia as they explore the areas they were allowed to shoot so they can conceptualize the shoot firsthand before their model arrives. Luhan and Tao joins Amber as they do last minute checkings on the clothes and the staff of Re:birth Seoul who's also arrived for the campaign.
They have lunch in two different group and for almost the rest of the day, Tao and Yifan barely see each other. Tao and his group are done with preparations by 3PM and are currently chilling by the nearby café when Yifan calls Tao. The younger excuses himself from the table and walks a bit of distance away.
'We're done now, sunshine. Wanna go grab something to eat?'
"Drop by the café next to the hotel. Not the one we were in yesterday. I'm with Luhan and Amber, come eat with us."
'I dont want Amber talking about business. I'm sick of it. Jia won't stop yapping all day. How hard could a friggin' summer photoshoot be for me? I'M KRIS WU.'
Tao laughs, "Okay, okay, Mr. Awesome, I'll meet you at that café from yesterday. See you in 5? 10?"
'Alright. See you in a bit.'
Tao ends the call and returns to their table, "I'm sorry, I have to go. Kris just called and he said he wanted to talk to me somewhere else."
"Go ahead. I'll check the beach in a bit anyway."
"I'll just go back to our room."
"Okay." Tao smiles and walks off. He's walking silently towards the café when another person bumps into him, "Sorry!"
"Sorry! Oh! Wait! Chinese?!"
Tao looks at the shorter male standing in front of him, "Uh, yes. May I help you?"
"You see, my boyfriend is the model for a photoshoot here tomorrow," the shorter male starts and Tao smiles, "Wait. You're Kai's boyfriend?"
"Yes! Oh good! You're from Re:Birth!"
"Yes. Is something wrong?"
"That asshole decided to run to the beach and his stuff are heavy, is it okay to ask for your help? I'll just have us checked in and I can finally give him a good scolding!"
Tao laughs and nods, "You are so adorable. Of course, let me help you. I'm Huang Zitao. You can call me Tao."
"So glad to meet you! I'm..."
"KYUNGSOO?!"
Tao turns to his side to find Yifan with wide eyes and looking at the shorter male, "Yifan?"
Tao looks at Kyungsoo and then Yifan, "Do I go? Uhm, it's a little awkward here."
"No. I'm still hungry." Yifan grabs Tao by the arm and walks too fast for a shocked Tao to keep up, "Yifan, you're hurting me! Slow down!"
Yifan stops and sighs, "With Jongin? I am fucking working with Jongin?!"
"Jongin who?"
Yifan turns to Tao who's currently nursing a slightly bruised wrist, "Kai. Kim fucking Jongin is Kai. Kyungsoo, my darling ex's new boyfriend."
Tao averts his gaze from Yifan with the word 'darling'. He takes a deep breath and looks at Yifan with the best smile he can muster, "You're a professional, right? And... and maybe this is the time you and Kyungsoo can talk, yes?"
"Why would we talk? He left and replaced me!"
Tao bites his lower lip, "Y... you won't be reacting like this if you feel nothing for him. I... I told you, Kai could be a rebound. It's 3 years versus a few months..."
"Can we go back to the hotel? I lost my appetite and I need to process this."
"Y... yeah. Sure." Tao walks on ahead of Yifan, the photographer doesn't even try to keep up with Tao until the younger makes it to the hotel entrance and runs back to his room.
"What happened?! Did you two fight?"
Tao shakes his head and buries himself under his blanket, "Forget what I said earlier. It's stupid to think that way."
Luhan sighs and puts his book away. He walks over to Tao's bed and sits beside the younger, "Stupid to think that you're in love with Yifan?"
"I... didn't say it was Yifan..."
"Zitao? You aren't fooling me. You have that sparkly, googly eyes when you look at him. You smile and laugh a lot when you're with him. When do you ever flirt like that? Answer: Never."
"It doesn't matter. We're friends and we better remain this way."
Luhan squeezes Tao's shoulder as a sign of comfort, "Will you please tell me what happened, at least?"
"Kyungsoo. His ex."
"He's here? That Kyungsoo? Of all places to be, why here?"
"He's Kai's boyfriend."
Luhan gasps and shakes his head, "Shit just got real. This can end too dramatically."
"I should be hating him, not falling in love with him..." Tao openly sobs and Luhan hugs him, "It wasn't worth it..."
"What wasn't...?"
"Luhan, I slept with Yifan so he can be onboard this campaign."
"Oh, Tao..." Luhan hugs him tighter, Tao continues on and on how it all started and how fucked up it is that he ended up in love with Yifan. Luhan notices that Tao has turned silent and when he releases the younger, he is quite relieved to find out that Tao had fallen asleep. He kisses Tao's shoulder, and smiles faintly, "Things will get better. Everything will be okay."
---------------
Author's Notes: Hello! I'm just, hi! Ahihi. I can't really say I went on hiatus since I single-handedly handled the 2nd KTStyle Fest: SpookFest Special. For a long while there, I was too lazy to continue all my unfinished fics, and I was trying to finish 'the 8th chapter of 'In Between Today and Forever' but ended up writing the 9th. How awesome.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter because i did and finished it in just 4 days! :)
Chapters: 04/?
Author: paranoiascreams
Genre: smut, angst
Warning: unbeta'd
Rating: PG-13
Pairings/Characters: Kris x Tao
Synopsis: Tao is a dedicated employee of an advertising company living a routinary life until his sexy new neighbor moves next door and turns his life upside down.
Disclaimer: Own no one but the story. I would like Yifan to own me.
[01] [02] [03]
"You know, we could have gone here at the same time. I dropped by the apartment to get my stuff and you were already gone?"
Tao looks up to see Yifan walking up to him near the boarding gate while Jongdae talks to someone over the phone. The younger smiles and Yifan hands him a cup of coffee, "I didn't sleep at home last night."
Yifan turns to him with a raised brow, "But you were just texting me about going home late!"
Tao shrugs and chuckles against the styro cup, "I guess I didn't make it."
Yifan squints his eyes and immediately grabs the cup from Tao - much to the younger's surprise. The photographer then pulls down Tao's collars and starts sniffing him like a dog, "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Did you have sex last night?!"
Tao pushes Yifan away and slaps his head, "Don't be ridiculous!"
"I go out of town for the weekends and you start seeing guys I don't know?! You said you were just out with your brother!"
"You sound like my mother! Besides," Tao grins and crosses his arm over Yifan's body to take back his cup that the photographer placed on the empty seat next to him, "If I did go on a date last night, and maybe got laid, what is it to you?"
"That will be gross."
Tao huffs and Yifan laughs, "Why would you date your brother?"
"You're so stupid." Tao chuckles and Yifan wraps an arm over Tao's shoulder to pull him closer, "I got you something, by the way."
Tao looks at him sideways and Yifan pulls out a panda cellphone charm from his pocket, "I took my niece on a date last Saturday and this reminded me of you."
"Thank you." Tao takes the gift and hands Yifan his coffee. He takes out his phone and attaches the charm on it, "It's cute." The younger chuckles and takes back the coffee, "Which means I'm cute, right?"
"Awww... you two are such a cute couple."
The two turns to see Jongdae and Luhan gushing over them and Tao glares at his assistant while Yifan raises his middle finger at Jongdae.
Yifan retracts his arm around Tao and leans on the chair more comfortably, "So? Who's your date last night?"
"I didn't have a date."
Yifan stares at Tao and pinches the younger's nose, "You're lying!"
"Maybe." Tao flicks Yifan's forehead before standing up when their flight is called. Inside the plane, Tao sits by the window and stares at the runway.
He hates flying.
His parents died in a plane crash and the trauma never really left. This is why he let only Luhan go during out of the country work and his office thinks it's because he's afraid of heights, "Oh well..." he sighs and when he turns to talk to Luhan, Yifan is grinning at him.
"WHERE IS LUHAN? HOW DARE YOU EAT MY ASSISTANT?!"
"Shh! They'll find out I'm a cannibal!"
"You idiot." Tao chuckles and he feels slightly more at ease about flying for some reason. Tao grips on his seat's arm when the plane starts to take off and Yifan notices this. The photographer leans closer and whispers, "Afraid of flying?"
Tao nods and just as silently replies with the word, "P... parents."
Yifan puts his hand over Tao's and locks it with his own, "Breathe, sunshine. We will be fine."
Tao breathes a sigh of relief when the plane safely takes off the runway and he releases Yifan's hand to finally look out the window again - now boasting with the cloud-woven sky.
"So... who was your date last night?"
Tao laughs and turns to see Yifan just a little too close to his face. He pushes the older's head away from him and rolls his eyes, "Are you not gonna stop asking, mother?"
"Nope."
Tao chuckles and looks at Yifan, "I didn't go on a date. But it was nice to see Henry again. Am I ever thankful I am finally over my breakouts!?"
"Who the fuck's Henry?"
"My brother's best friend from high school. He flew in from Canada and he's in Shanghai until the end of the month. He was my childhood crush and he's still so cute like a little hamster." Tao sighs dreamily and Yifan scoffs, "You are such a girl."
"I don't care. There was a lot of flirting involved and I just couldn't go home. Even my brother is supporting this "potential" new beginning."
Yifan crosses his arms over his chest and rolls his eyes as he mumbles, "In that Henry's fucking dream."
"Did you say something?"
"Nothing. Just start listening to them ladies." Yifan points at the flight attendants starting their demo for emergency landings and the photographer ignores them and rather observes just how eager Tao is listening to the instructions. Yifan chuckles and whispers, "Shall this plane crash, I'll make sure to save you."
Tao smiles without taking his eyes off the attendant, "Please make sure you do."
Yifan gives Tao's hand a slight squeeze before listening to the attendant. The photographer dozes off after eating while Tao reads a book to take his mind off of things as the plane flies across the sky.
Tao is ever glad when they finally make it to the island and he settles immediately in the room he'll be sharing with Luhan. "Did you call Sehun? Will he be here?"
Luhan smiles at him while the older male unpacks, "I dont know. He said he's unsure if he can get a leave off work but he hopes we can fly off to Seoul instead."
Tao stretches his arms and lies on the bed, spread-eagle, "How does this long distance relationship work?"
"We jerk off via Skype."
"Luhan, please."
Luhan chuckles and Tao checks his phone. He sighs when he finds nothing of importance and closes his eyes to try and get some rest.
"What's with you and Kris?"
"We're friends. Ok friends, I guess."
Tao feels the bed dip next to him and Luhan fixes his bangs. The younger opens his eyes to find Luhan smiling at him, "Are you happy?"
"I'm okay. Why do you ask?"
"I came post-Eden incident, and I guess I never really saw you happy. As in literally happy. Is Kris making you happy?"
"He is my friend and he does. So does all of you in the office."
Luhan tilts his head to the side and raises an eyebrow, "You aren't dating? You two are really cute together."
Tao scrunches his nose and shrugs, "It's a little complicated."
Their conversation is interrupted when there's a knock on the door. Luhan stands to open it and is quickly pushed aside when a half-naked, board shorts-wearing Kris walks in, "Yo, sunshine! Let's hit the beach!"
"Go away." Tao laughs and turns away from Yifan. The photographer grins and pulls Tao by the feet and the younger screams, "WU YIFAN!!!" And the younger kicks Yifan away, the photographer climbs on the bed and chaos ensues.
Luhan laughs at the squabble and Jongdae steps inside the room just in time to catch Yifan trying to take off Tao's shirt while straddling the younger boy, "I didn't know there's some weird kink porn shit going down here. We were just gonna pick you both so we can hit the beach."
"I'm going! I'm going!!! Get off me, Yifan!"
Luhan leans closer to Jongdae and whispers, "They're a lot closer than I thought."
"They're neighbors, didn't Tao tell you? And they had an interesting first meeting so I guess it makes their friendship kind of extra special?"
Luhan shrugs and smiles, "As long as he's happy."
Tao ushers Yifan and Jongdae out of their room once he has composed himself and the photographer has laughed his head dry, "We're gonna go change. God, 1st day at work and we're already slacking off."
Luhan checks his watch and shakes his head, "No. Remember that during the meeting, we were supposed to arrive on Tuesday while Alexandria comes by Wednesday with the models? Amber called me and asked us to be all moved a day ahead, a little r & r thank you gift for getting Kris. I guess you're too happy lately to notice the chabge in flights."
"Thanks for making me less guilty about this. But, man, Alexandria's one generous company isn't it?" Tao smiles and Luhan shrugs, "They are willing to pay for Kris' services." His assistant closes the door after they see Yifan and Jongdae turn to the corner of the hallway.
"You know, this trip can be very... life-changing." Jongdae starts as they walk to the hotel's entrance. Yifan just hums a response as he adjusts his camera's setting before putting it inside a waterproof case, "Yo, Yifan... wanna know who your model is?"
Yifan scrunches his brows and shakes his head 'no'. He lights up a cigarette and takes a picture with his camera, "You know I don't care about the models. They arrive on Wednesday, we shoot them 'til Friday, and then we're out. Alexandria is a done deal and I can finally just settle down in Shanghai quietly. No clients after Alexandria, okay?!"
Jongdae sighs and just watches the scenery before him, "You're just running away. You ran away from Guangzhou to avoid Kyungsoo, to stop being Kris for a bit."
"Jongdae, it's a 3-year relationship. We're broken up, what? 2 and a half months? I may seem like an unemotional and robotic person but I loved Kyungsoo. I may still be in love with him, who knows? That's why I didn't want to work, ok?!"
"Sorry, did we interrupt?"
Yifan and Jongdae turns to see Tao and Luhan standing by the entrance and the photographer shakes his head, "I need some air. Sorry, Tao. I'll catch up with you in a bit." Yifan kills his cigarette and walks away from the trio. "I'm sorry, I think I killed his mood." Jongdae apologizes and Luhan tells him it's okay.
Tao looks at the direction where Yifan is headed and pats Luhan on the shoulder, "I... I'm gonna talk to him. We'll catch up with you." Tao smiles and runs after Yifan.
"Yifan!"
The photographer turns around to find Tao catching up to him, "Tao, I need..."
"You need a friend. I'm here."
Yifan rolls his eyes and smirks, "I cant win against you, can I?"
"Nope." Tao drags Yifan by the arm and they enter the nearest café. They sit outside where there aren't other patrons and Tao orders their drinks. They stay silent for a moment and when their drinks arrive, Tao finally starts, "So, I mean, we didn't mean to overhear, but is it really the main reason you weren't accepting clients, to get over a break up?"
"Yeah. I played around, but I loved Kyungsoo. I just... you know, I thought, he was gonna stay forever and be patient enough until I come around but he left. He said my work ate all our time together and while I was still thinking of getting back together with him, I found out he's dating some rookie model."
"He's probably just a rebound, Yifan. It's only been a few months, things can turn around. It could have been worse."
"Worse? I came home from work, like, I was in Guam for 2 weeks and I arrived home to Kyungsoo waiting in the living room with all his bags packed. He told me he couldn't take it anymore and just left. He just wanted to tell me personally."
"At least he did. My ex? You know, Eden? He broke up with me through a post card. Yeah. A fucking post card from Puerto Rico or something."
"A what? Is that why it's called the Eden incident?!"
Tao laughs and nods his head, "Well, not particularly, but, you see, we've been together for 5 years. We were college lovers and we moved to Shanghai together, we interned together in our company and things were going great. I got absorbed in the company, he went off to pursue his 'artistic' dreams. It took off, like, his galleries and exhibits are sold out, he goes to different countries to do inspirational speeches and stuff, things like that." Tao scoffs and takes a sip of his coffee, "I... I packed his bags for his trip to Puerto Rico. I gave him head before we left the apartment and even drove him to the airport and 4 days later I got a cheap postcard via EMS from that country that says," Tao moves his fingers in 'quoting' motions, "I hinder his imagination, that he needs space and that he loves me. And, get this, he says, 'If you love and support me, you will not contact me again.' And that was the start of the infamous Eden Incident."
Yifan chuckles and shrugs his shoulders, "I... I don't know what to say. Eden... wow. Such an asshole."
"YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SAY THAT. I LOVE HIM." Tao laughs, "Or so I would say, if this is a year ago or so."
"You make me feel good, Tao."
"What? With my misery in the past? Glad I could lift your spirits."
"I'd like to know more details about this Eden Incident but let's save it for next time, okay? I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need a lot of it while we're here."
Tao smiles, "Well then, shall we head to the beach? This is your idea, after all."
"Yeah. I need to see you naked again."
Tao laughs and kicks Yifan's leg from under the table, "You douche!"
"Come on! Water's awesome!" Jongdae yells from the sea while Luhan is reading a book under an umbrella and lying on a beach blanket, "You can dump your stuff here and swim. I'm not swimming. I hate open waters."
"Okay." Tao drops his small pouch on the blanket while Yifan waits for him. "You sure you're not swimming?" Tao asks again and Luhan nods. The younger takes off his shirt and Yifan drags him to the water. The two of them joins Jongdae and the assistant is smiling at them, "I rarely do this but I'm sorry about earlier, Yifan."
"Forget it. And thank the Eden Incident."
"The what?"
Tao chuckles from next to Yifan, "Don't mind him, Jongdae."
"Hey, sunshine."
Tao turns to Yifan and the photographer takes his picture, "Yifan!"
"What? You're my muse!"
Tao turns red and splashes water at Yifan before swimming away. Jongdae glares at Yifan and clears his throat, "He's your muse? Yifan..."
"What is it this time?"
"Your muse. You should remember how Kyungsoo and you started." Jongdae pats Yifan's arm as he watches Tao swim away.
"Oh. Fuck." Yifan gasps and watches Tao looking at the horizon. The photographer turns to Jongdae with wide eyes, "Don't. Let us not talk about this. I'm... I'm gonna figure this out. Just... Tao and I are friends."
"Fine. I hope things will turn up okay." Jongdae smiles and swims away.
"YIFAN! COME ON!" Tao yells from a distance away and Yifan swims towards him, "Hey, Mr. Photographer, think you can let me take photos of you this time?"
Jongdae watches the two interact and how Yifan teaches Tao how to work the camera. The assistant swims back to the shore and joins Luhan, "Hate being the third wheel?"
Jongdae chuckles and Luhan sets his book aside, "You think they'll hook up? I can see the sexual tension."
"We'll see by the end of this week. Yifan... he says he's going through a break up and..."
"Tao can be a rebound. I see. I have a good sense with these kinds of things and things will come around on those two."
The four of them have lunch and explore the island together. By dinner, they enjoy seafood and some cocktails to cap the night. They walk back to the hotel after, Jongdae and Luhan goes ahead and leaves the other two behind, "So, see you tomorrow. Jia and the rest of her team will be here by then. I guess, real work starts tomorrow."
"That's true. Good night, sunshine."
Tao smiles and gives Yifan a brief hug, "Thanks. I had fun today."
"This sounds like a date ending."
Tao chuckles and shrugs his shoulders, "It does, doesn't it?"
Yifan crosses his arms and bites his lower lip, "You flirt."
"You're flirting back."
Yifan takes a deep breath and walks closer to the other, "That... I am."
Tao looks up at Yifan and holds his breath. The other inches tentatively but it's cut off when Tao's phone's rings. Yifan steps back, tells his good night and crosses the hall. He's opening his door and hears Tao greet the other person on the line.
"Henry?!"
Yifan now hates two people in Tao's life.
-----
"You should get up. Something wrong?" Luhan looks at Tao who's still lying on the bed.
"Luhan... I..."
"What's wrong?"
Tao covers his face with his hand and starts sobbing, "I'm in love."
"With whom?" Luhan raises an eyebrow and continues, "You were all gushy and mushy with Kris and giggling like a high school girl on the phone last night."
"With..."
Their conversation is cut off again when there's a knock on the door. Luhan stands to open it and Tao immediately wipes his face with the blanket, "Yo, sunshine! Breakfast!"
"I'll go down later."
"No. Now! I'm hungry!" Yifan pulls Tao's blanket and the younger screams and scrambles a pillow he can use to cover his face, "Sunshine, what's wrong?"
"Bad dream." Tao mumbles under the pillow, "You can go ahead. I'm skipping breakfast."
Yifan looks at Luhan and Jongdae and motions them to leave the room. Yifan sighs and pats Tao's back in a comforting manner, "Sunshine, you cheered me up yesterday, let me return the favor. What's wrong? Did Henry break your heart already because I swear to god, there will be blood and I would be more than happy to hurt that little hamster."
Tao chuckles and removes the pillow from his face, "I look so horrible!" He yells and sits up in front of the photographer.
"Still the little sunshine I know." Yifan smiles and pinches Tao's cheek, "So, what's the problem?"
"Just a little dilemma. Well, not really. Just a little confused. Anyway, okay! Breakfast?"
"Yes. Oh. And you might want to wash your face or something."
"Why?"
"According to Jongdae from Luhan, Alexandria's team is almost here and will be joining us for breakfast."
Tao screams and tackles Yifan on the bed, "You could have mentioned that earlier!!!"
"MORNING BREATH! MORNING BREATH!"
Tao breathes on Yifan's face before jumping off the bed and rushing to the bathroom to freshen up. He returns to the room with Yifan watching TV, "You really hate shirts, huh?"
"Yeah. Loathe them." Yifan responds without taking his eyes off the TV, Tao giggles and throws Yifan's shirt back to him, "You can put them back on now. I'm ready and I'm hungry."
Yifan turns off the TV and puts on the shirt. The two of them joins Luhan and Jongdae for breakfast. Tao notices Amber and Jia in the table as well, "Hi. Sorry we're late."
"Nevermind that. Please, let's eat before we start the discussion of the whole concept."
"The models arrive tomorrow, right?" Tao asks and Luhan nods. Amber cuts off, "Except for the male model. He's gonna fly in later this afternoon. He's a surfer and he says he wants to see the beach at least."
"A surfer model, huh?" Yifan comments and turns to Jongdae, his assistant shrugs his shoulders and mouths, 'You said you didnt want to know!'
After breakfast, the team separates in two, Yifan and Jongdae joins Jia as they explore the areas they were allowed to shoot so they can conceptualize the shoot firsthand before their model arrives. Luhan and Tao joins Amber as they do last minute checkings on the clothes and the staff of Re:birth Seoul who's also arrived for the campaign.
They have lunch in two different group and for almost the rest of the day, Tao and Yifan barely see each other. Tao and his group are done with preparations by 3PM and are currently chilling by the nearby café when Yifan calls Tao. The younger excuses himself from the table and walks a bit of distance away.
'We're done now, sunshine. Wanna go grab something to eat?'
"Drop by the café next to the hotel. Not the one we were in yesterday. I'm with Luhan and Amber, come eat with us."
'I dont want Amber talking about business. I'm sick of it. Jia won't stop yapping all day. How hard could a friggin' summer photoshoot be for me? I'M KRIS WU.'
Tao laughs, "Okay, okay, Mr. Awesome, I'll meet you at that café from yesterday. See you in 5? 10?"
'Alright. See you in a bit.'
Tao ends the call and returns to their table, "I'm sorry, I have to go. Kris just called and he said he wanted to talk to me somewhere else."
"Go ahead. I'll check the beach in a bit anyway."
"I'll just go back to our room."
"Okay." Tao smiles and walks off. He's walking silently towards the café when another person bumps into him, "Sorry!"
"Sorry! Oh! Wait! Chinese?!"
Tao looks at the shorter male standing in front of him, "Uh, yes. May I help you?"
"You see, my boyfriend is the model for a photoshoot here tomorrow," the shorter male starts and Tao smiles, "Wait. You're Kai's boyfriend?"
"Yes! Oh good! You're from Re:Birth!"
"Yes. Is something wrong?"
"That asshole decided to run to the beach and his stuff are heavy, is it okay to ask for your help? I'll just have us checked in and I can finally give him a good scolding!"
Tao laughs and nods, "You are so adorable. Of course, let me help you. I'm Huang Zitao. You can call me Tao."
"So glad to meet you! I'm..."
"KYUNGSOO?!"
Tao turns to his side to find Yifan with wide eyes and looking at the shorter male, "Yifan?"
Tao looks at Kyungsoo and then Yifan, "Do I go? Uhm, it's a little awkward here."
"No. I'm still hungry." Yifan grabs Tao by the arm and walks too fast for a shocked Tao to keep up, "Yifan, you're hurting me! Slow down!"
Yifan stops and sighs, "With Jongin? I am fucking working with Jongin?!"
"Jongin who?"
Yifan turns to Tao who's currently nursing a slightly bruised wrist, "Kai. Kim fucking Jongin is Kai. Kyungsoo, my darling ex's new boyfriend."
Tao averts his gaze from Yifan with the word 'darling'. He takes a deep breath and looks at Yifan with the best smile he can muster, "You're a professional, right? And... and maybe this is the time you and Kyungsoo can talk, yes?"
"Why would we talk? He left and replaced me!"
Tao bites his lower lip, "Y... you won't be reacting like this if you feel nothing for him. I... I told you, Kai could be a rebound. It's 3 years versus a few months..."
"Can we go back to the hotel? I lost my appetite and I need to process this."
"Y... yeah. Sure." Tao walks on ahead of Yifan, the photographer doesn't even try to keep up with Tao until the younger makes it to the hotel entrance and runs back to his room.
"What happened?! Did you two fight?"
Tao shakes his head and buries himself under his blanket, "Forget what I said earlier. It's stupid to think that way."
Luhan sighs and puts his book away. He walks over to Tao's bed and sits beside the younger, "Stupid to think that you're in love with Yifan?"
"I... didn't say it was Yifan..."
"Zitao? You aren't fooling me. You have that sparkly, googly eyes when you look at him. You smile and laugh a lot when you're with him. When do you ever flirt like that? Answer: Never."
"It doesn't matter. We're friends and we better remain this way."
Luhan squeezes Tao's shoulder as a sign of comfort, "Will you please tell me what happened, at least?"
"Kyungsoo. His ex."
"He's here? That Kyungsoo? Of all places to be, why here?"
"He's Kai's boyfriend."
Luhan gasps and shakes his head, "Shit just got real. This can end too dramatically."
"I should be hating him, not falling in love with him..." Tao openly sobs and Luhan hugs him, "It wasn't worth it..."
"What wasn't...?"
"Luhan, I slept with Yifan so he can be onboard this campaign."
"Oh, Tao..." Luhan hugs him tighter, Tao continues on and on how it all started and how fucked up it is that he ended up in love with Yifan. Luhan notices that Tao has turned silent and when he releases the younger, he is quite relieved to find out that Tao had fallen asleep. He kisses Tao's shoulder, and smiles faintly, "Things will get better. Everything will be okay."
---------------
Author's Notes: Hello! I'm just, hi! Ahihi. I can't really say I went on hiatus since I single-handedly handled the 2nd KTStyle Fest: SpookFest Special. For a long while there, I was too lazy to continue all my unfinished fics, and I was trying to finish 'the 8th chapter of 'In Between Today and Forever' but ended up writing the 9th. How awesome.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter because i did and finished it in just 4 days! :)