Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Title: Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Pairing: None. OT12, Tao-centric
Rating: G
Summary: He felt his eyes sting as he watched himself dedicate his message to K.
Also posted here.
The room was dark, lighted by only the flickering screen of Zitao's laptop. He was on the floor of their dorm's living room, huddled under a mound of blankets to keep out the cold. He couldn't sleep, so decided to stay up and rewatch their interviews for the umpteenth time. It never fails to amaze him how the rest of the members can be so poised and calm during those interviews. Every time the camera focus on him, he looks like he's about to murder someone. Then again, it's hard to look good when you're compared to Luhan ge's doe-eyed look, Yixing ge's gentle smile (which all but turns into a gleeful smirk at home), or Kris ge's (he liked to be called his English name, rather than his Chinese one) confident answers to the interviewer's questions. Even the Minseok and Jongdae hyung looked calm and happy, despite not being able to understand much. Tao sighed, happy that he's with his members, happy that they're the ones with him every step of the way.
He's watching the Yin Yue Tai interview right now. It was probably one of the most fun to film, but also the most... emotional. Well, he only has himself to blame. The part where they sent greetings to K started playing, and the feelings he felt then were coming back. He watched himself lean over to Luhan ge, asking if it would be alright to send a message to all the K members rather than just Baekhyun, the member he had picked, like the people before him.
He felt his eyes sting as he watched himself tell K how much he missed them.
He bit his lip, mirroring his own actions on the screen.
And of course, the ever cheesy Angel insert and the slow motion shot as screen-Tao blinks away the his tears, complete Jongdae hyung's completely oblivious face.
He chuckles at the contrast between him and Jongdae as he wiped his tears with the corner of his blanket. He heard a door open in the dorm just as he sniffled, and quickly reached out to pause the video.
"Ge?" He blinked, trying to see who it was.
"Why are you still up? We've got a schedule tomorrow." Zitao stiffened a little at the deep voice. Of course it was the leader checking on his members.
Kris walked towards the pile of blankets and sat down next to his favorite maknae. He didn't say a word, looking at Zitao's slightly puffy face, and then at the screen in front of it. He saw the paused shot, and his brows softened, remembering what had happened.
"I miss them." Zitao's voice was a little muffled, hidden by the blankets. Tears started to flow freely, and he frantically tried to wipe them away.
Kris reached out, resting his hand on Tao's head.
The weight calmed the younger down. He turned his head towards the leader slowly. Kris was looking at the youngest member with soft eyes. It made sense that, out of all of them, Zitao would be the one to be affected the most by the seperation. Taozi, EXO's little peach, may look like he's tough, but they all knew it was a facade. Inside, he was as soft and sweet as his pet namesake.
"Do you miss them?"
Kris nodded once, firmly, keeping his hand on the boy's head. "All the time."
The sound of a door opening, and feet padding the floor, alerted them that the rest of the members were awake.
"What's wrong?" Luhan's voice drifted from the hallway. He was followed by a drowsy Yixing, no doubt wakened up by him. Luhan had always been paranoid about people wandering while they slept, and would frequently get Yixing to act as bodyguard when he had to get out of bed in the middle of the night.
They saw Zitao's head poking out of the blankets, and Kris's hand on Tao's head. Like Kris, both looked at the paused screen and their eyes softened in understanding. Luhan was settling down beside Tao, wrapping his arms around him when the last door opened, and another set of feet padded softly towards the living room.
"Hyung?" Jongdae's voice was heard before he was seen. Minseok entered the living room first and, seeing that all the members were sitting around a cocooned Tao, joined in beside Yixing. Jongdae followed, and sat beside Luhan. All the older members were nestled against Tao's body. The combined warmth of the six members made the previously cold silence comfortable. Tao felt his body relax against them.
Six set of eyes stared at the screen. There was an unspoken understanding as all six members of the M team mentally travelled to Korea. Their breaths were in sync, filling the room.
"Do you think they miss us?" The voice was Minseok's.
"Of course." Luhan's voice was bright. Everyone knew we was smiling, and they smiled with him.
"I bet you Joonmyun ge is typing up an email right now, telling us about their day," Yixing said with a snort.
Everyone laughed at the thought of Joonmyun huddled up in front of his computer, telling them about how Kai and Sehun played yet another prank on Baekhyun. Of course, everyone knows that Baekhyun would threaten to never film a CF with Sehun, ever.
"Taozi, go back to bed." Tao lifted his head, small smile on his face as he nodded. Wordlessly, he reached out and closed his laptop, plunging the living room in darkness.
"Do you know what we haven't done in a long time?" Heads shook, unseen, to Luhan's question. "Sleep in the living room together." The other members muttered in agreement. One by one, the older members got up, got their pillows and blankets from their beds and returned to where Zitao was sitting. Kris returned with the boy's pillow, and handed it to him before laying down beside the maknae. The members arranged themselves around each other, body against body, keeping warm against the draft.
"Do you think they're doing this too?"
"Yeah."
"Duh."
"Chanyeol would drag them to the floor."
Another collective laugh.
Kris's voice rang out above the laughter. "Taozi, you know you don't need to be out here alone, right?" Zitao felt multiple arms wrap around him. He has somehow ended up in the center of the group, surrounded by his members. Zitao nodded, knowing that all the members can somehow feel his answer. "Do you know why?"
"We are one."
A/N: This is my first fanfic ever. Please comment and critique! Let me know what you think. :)
Pairing: None. OT12, Tao-centric
Rating: G
Summary: He felt his eyes sting as he watched himself dedicate his message to K.
Also posted here.
The room was dark, lighted by only the flickering screen of Zitao's laptop. He was on the floor of their dorm's living room, huddled under a mound of blankets to keep out the cold. He couldn't sleep, so decided to stay up and rewatch their interviews for the umpteenth time. It never fails to amaze him how the rest of the members can be so poised and calm during those interviews. Every time the camera focus on him, he looks like he's about to murder someone. Then again, it's hard to look good when you're compared to Luhan ge's doe-eyed look, Yixing ge's gentle smile (which all but turns into a gleeful smirk at home), or Kris ge's (he liked to be called his English name, rather than his Chinese one) confident answers to the interviewer's questions. Even the Minseok and Jongdae hyung looked calm and happy, despite not being able to understand much. Tao sighed, happy that he's with his members, happy that they're the ones with him every step of the way.
He's watching the Yin Yue Tai interview right now. It was probably one of the most fun to film, but also the most... emotional. Well, he only has himself to blame. The part where they sent greetings to K started playing, and the feelings he felt then were coming back. He watched himself lean over to Luhan ge, asking if it would be alright to send a message to all the K members rather than just Baekhyun, the member he had picked, like the people before him.
He felt his eyes sting as he watched himself tell K how much he missed them.
He bit his lip, mirroring his own actions on the screen.
And of course, the ever cheesy Angel insert and the slow motion shot as screen-Tao blinks away the his tears, complete Jongdae hyung's completely oblivious face.
He chuckles at the contrast between him and Jongdae as he wiped his tears with the corner of his blanket. He heard a door open in the dorm just as he sniffled, and quickly reached out to pause the video.
"Ge?" He blinked, trying to see who it was.
"Why are you still up? We've got a schedule tomorrow." Zitao stiffened a little at the deep voice. Of course it was the leader checking on his members.
Kris walked towards the pile of blankets and sat down next to his favorite maknae. He didn't say a word, looking at Zitao's slightly puffy face, and then at the screen in front of it. He saw the paused shot, and his brows softened, remembering what had happened.
"I miss them." Zitao's voice was a little muffled, hidden by the blankets. Tears started to flow freely, and he frantically tried to wipe them away.
Kris reached out, resting his hand on Tao's head.
The weight calmed the younger down. He turned his head towards the leader slowly. Kris was looking at the youngest member with soft eyes. It made sense that, out of all of them, Zitao would be the one to be affected the most by the seperation. Taozi, EXO's little peach, may look like he's tough, but they all knew it was a facade. Inside, he was as soft and sweet as his pet namesake.
"Do you miss them?"
Kris nodded once, firmly, keeping his hand on the boy's head. "All the time."
The sound of a door opening, and feet padding the floor, alerted them that the rest of the members were awake.
"What's wrong?" Luhan's voice drifted from the hallway. He was followed by a drowsy Yixing, no doubt wakened up by him. Luhan had always been paranoid about people wandering while they slept, and would frequently get Yixing to act as bodyguard when he had to get out of bed in the middle of the night.
They saw Zitao's head poking out of the blankets, and Kris's hand on Tao's head. Like Kris, both looked at the paused screen and their eyes softened in understanding. Luhan was settling down beside Tao, wrapping his arms around him when the last door opened, and another set of feet padded softly towards the living room.
"Hyung?" Jongdae's voice was heard before he was seen. Minseok entered the living room first and, seeing that all the members were sitting around a cocooned Tao, joined in beside Yixing. Jongdae followed, and sat beside Luhan. All the older members were nestled against Tao's body. The combined warmth of the six members made the previously cold silence comfortable. Tao felt his body relax against them.
Six set of eyes stared at the screen. There was an unspoken understanding as all six members of the M team mentally travelled to Korea. Their breaths were in sync, filling the room.
"Do you think they miss us?" The voice was Minseok's.
"Of course." Luhan's voice was bright. Everyone knew we was smiling, and they smiled with him.
"I bet you Joonmyun ge is typing up an email right now, telling us about their day," Yixing said with a snort.
Everyone laughed at the thought of Joonmyun huddled up in front of his computer, telling them about how Kai and Sehun played yet another prank on Baekhyun. Of course, everyone knows that Baekhyun would threaten to never film a CF with Sehun, ever.
"Taozi, go back to bed." Tao lifted his head, small smile on his face as he nodded. Wordlessly, he reached out and closed his laptop, plunging the living room in darkness.
"Do you know what we haven't done in a long time?" Heads shook, unseen, to Luhan's question. "Sleep in the living room together." The other members muttered in agreement. One by one, the older members got up, got their pillows and blankets from their beds and returned to where Zitao was sitting. Kris returned with the boy's pillow, and handed it to him before laying down beside the maknae. The members arranged themselves around each other, body against body, keeping warm against the draft.
"Do you think they're doing this too?"
"Yeah."
"Duh."
"Chanyeol would drag them to the floor."
Another collective laugh.
Kris's voice rang out above the laughter. "Taozi, you know you don't need to be out here alone, right?" Zitao felt multiple arms wrap around him. He has somehow ended up in the center of the group, surrounded by his members. Zitao nodded, knowing that all the members can somehow feel his answer. "Do you know why?"
"We are one."
A/N: This is my first fanfic ever. Please comment and critique! Let me know what you think. :)