TAODAE (2/2)

Tao stared back at Kris with a fire in his eyes. "Kris-ge, don't kid with me."

Kris sighed and let go. "Yeah, I know." He tipped one side of his mouth up and folded his hands in his lap as he leaned back in his seat. They were sitting on a metal chairs set up near the restaurants on campus, a table between them and an umbrella above to shield them from the sun.

Tao whined, a high pitched noise that escaped his throat as he let his head fall back all the way. He closed his eyes and waited for his ge-ge to say something.

"Why don't you just go for it?"

Tao sat up quickly. "What?" His eyes were wide open and Kris let his smirk grow even more smug.

"Why don't you just take him?"

--

Jongdae tapped his foot impatiently under the glass table, though it was his fault for coming early. He checked his watch. 1:58. He tapped his foot some more. The bell over the cafe door clanged. And in walked a tall, sharp-eyed, cat-lipped boy. Chen smiled and waved him over. Tao seemed to light up as he saw his hyung sitting there waiting for him.

"Ready to go?" Chen stood up.

"Yup!" The younger boy nodded.

Sunday was their hangout day. They both has their own group of friends, their own -cliques-, but those groups didn't wander around together and so Chen and Tao's only times together as friends were Sundays. Saturdays were work days. Sundays was for lunch at their favorite restaurant, an opinion which they seemed to share. Sundays was for milkshakes at the ice cream place which was extremely underrated in Tao's opinion and just much too sweet for Chen. Sundays was for a movie at the old theater a few blocks down, most of the time an old horror film to end the day and start the week. The cafe was simply a meeting spot, sometimes used as more on colder wintery days. But in this heat, they moved on to the restaurant.

It was somewhat of a tradition to eat lunch this late. They were used to it and it came to them as a natural thing, to eat lunch at 2 PM. They used the morning and the first two hours of the afternoon as their own time until they finally had to meet up.

At about 3:30, the two left the restaurant, full and content, but still had enough space for milkshakes. Lunch had been the usual; they order the same thing every week. That, like the timing, was a tradition in itself. They walked a couple blocks, letting themselves get their mind and stomach off of the recent meal and walked into the ice cream place. Tao smiled once he walked in and they were greeted by Kim Minseok, or "Xiumin", who owned the store with great pride.

"Hey, you guys. The usual?" He grinned at them. Tao nodded enthusiastically and Chen gave a smile and a wave. Xiumin was as sweet as the ice cream he served here and so even though Chen had some opinions about the ice cream itself, he had nothing to say about the man that owned it.

They were handed two milkshakes and they paid with exact change. Xiumin continued cleaning up a few tables as Chen and Tao sat down at the same spot they always did and slurped up their chocolate malt and strawberry -- the chocolate for Tao and the strawberry for Chen. They chatted quietly, sometimes talking about friends, events, and gossip and sometimes discussing more educational topics -- theorems, literature, sciences. They enjoyed debating with each other in a more lighthearted way, casually proving each other wrong and bringing up each their own point. When they finished with the drinks, they threw the plastic cups away and waved Xiumin goodbye, who smiled at them until they were out the door.

The movie was probably the best part of their Sunday traditions. It was almost 4:20 by now, having spent their precious time at the ice cream parlor and they walked leisurely to the movie theater, arriving at a precise 4:30. It was almost empty and the bought their tickets, both of them immediately agreeing on the new horror film that had come out a few days past. Chen used his money to buy popcorn and Tao bought the drinks.

"Hyung, what we usually get, right?"

Chen have him a look. "Wouldn't think of getting anything else."

"I was just checking..." And indeed, he checks every week just in case his hyung decided to buy something different.

Tao liked to observe Jongdae in a living fashion. The same drinks, the same flavors, the same toppings, the same styles of cooking. Chen was a man who liked to keep things the way they were, who wasn't used to change. Tao imagines that moving into college must have been difficult for him.

The maknae orders the two slushies, small since they just had milkshakes. (Apart from being great geniuses, the two also had great appetites.) He handed Chen his just as Chen got the large popcorn he ordered. They both felt that ordering separate containers of popcorn was useless; they only really needed one large. Having gotten everything they needed, they walked into the theater and sat in the back to wait for the movie to start.

Tao and Chen both were deathly scared of horror movies which probably explained why they loved it so much. Chen loved the thrill his heart got, something about the loud thumping, something about the way it made his mind race. And Tao loved that he was the only one Chen would let see this side of him.

The movie started out good. As good as a lonely girl walking around a haunted school at night could get. And when the ghost finally showed up, drenched in blood, Chen jumped in his seat with a gasp and grabbed Tao's shoulders. Tao felt his shirt clench up in his fingers and tension in his muscles. He looked over at Chen, wide-eyed, who was staring at the screen with intent focus. His hands stayed on the younger boy's shoulders for a good five minutes. Tao wondered if Chen even realized that he was still holding onto him. Then he thought of Kris's words.

And he leaned over and kissed his hyung.

Chen breathed in with a gasp and tasted the younger boy's lips against his. "Tao, what the-"

He was interrupted as Tao pressed his lips to his again. Chen squeezed his eyes shut. "Tao, dammit." Then he kissed back. The two of them stayed like that, letting their hidden and not-so-hidden feelings flow out in the darkness of the movie theater.

They finally pulled back and the both of them were breathing hard, staring into each other's eyes. "Chen-hyung, why did you never.... Why did you never say anything?"

Chen kissed him hard again. "Dammit. Dammit. You were never supposed to know."

Tao smiled and kissed his hyung lightly, trying to savor every kiss, every moment with him. "Now I do."