[multi-drabble] Nostalgia - part 1, 2 & 3
Nostalgia // TaoRis (Kris/Tao) // PG13 - R // a wistful desire, a sentimental yearning; it engraved into his heart, the makeshift soul of his lost identity.
1.
....Gentle hands run through his hair, securing him in its warmth. And behind a fluttering heart, a flower blooms under the tenderness of each word that graces upon deft ears.
"Tao," a voice murmurs, soft and quiet, "I love you."
It was a tentatively worded sentence laced with sincerity and affection.
Holding his breath, Tao feels lips brush against his own in a teasing caress. It awakened a dormant lust that slept with grave pride in the depths of his heart; tempting it until it ascended and overruled his judgement.
Mixed emotions of adoration, reverence and greed, amplified the predatory growl that escaped his lips to a much greater volume. With his heart leaping as swift as the night tides, desire ran through his veins like poison. Throwing logic and hesitation away, he claims and tastes the forbidden fruit as his own.
And soon, a steady rhythm engraves into his heart, telling him that; this man was his, and his alone.
"WuFan..."
Tao's eyes snap open, his body rigid as a single droplet of sweat trails down the side of his face. Slowly releasing a breath of air, he blinks rapidly; adjusting his vision to the sudden light intruding his bedroom.
Morning, he thinks groggily, slowly shifting his head to squint at his clock. Unhurriedly, he sits up and heaves a deep breath before running his fingers through his slightly damp hair.
It was that dream again.
Slouching over to the bathroom sink, he splashes cold water onto his face; attempting to wash away the lingering haze and heat that obscured his mind. Although he was clad in a thin wife-beater, his body was unnaturally warm. Placing a hand over his chest, he listens to his heart resonated under his palm; sure and strong. These dreams, with its overpowering emotions, felt so vivid and true, he sometimes woke with doubt shackled to his wrists.
What if this was the dream right now?
Tao didn't regard these dreams as anything significant until he got to the point where these unimagined passions became so frequent, he had trouble differentiating the line that divided reality and falsified truth.
He didn't know whether these dreams were supposed to be underlying messages of his future or past. And if they were indeed that, he had no idea as to how he should decode it to be anything but lustful tension.
Letting out a muffled groan, he rubs his face in an exhausted manner.
Why me.
¤
-part 1. fin.
2.
"Why, don't you just look peachy."
Tao scowls, he didn't particularly find it amusing when people regarded his name in that matter.
"Shut up," he mutters, flipping off Baekhyun in a manner that most people would fine offensive. But then of course, Baekhyun wasn't like most people.
Chuckling, finding Tao's reaction always entertaining, Baekhyun slings a lazy arm over Tao's drooping shoulders as the Chinese boy takes his seat in the lecture hall.
"You look as attractive as a donkey's ass." Baekhyun leans closer and whispers, all sympathy and pity, "when's the last time you've gotten laid?"
With only a handful of students present for the morning lecture, Tao glares at his friend and shakes off his arm with a grunt.
Baekhyun nods, mock-understanding outlining his sorry gaze. He clears his throat and in the most regal voice he could muster, he says, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many par--"
"Why are you quoting Shakespeare, it's not even noon," Tao grumbles, slouching forward to rest his head and arms on the table before him.
Baekhyun wiggles a slender finger to and fro, clicking his tongue in disagreement. "My dearly uneducated friend, it is never too early to quote Shakespeare."
"And it's never too early to kick your ass," Tao grumbles.
Baekhyun pinches the exposed skin on Tao's neck, ignoring the pained yelp, and smirks. "Asses are made to bear, and so are you."
Sitting back up, Tao rubs at his reddening neck and narrows his eyes. But before he could part his lips to retort, the historical literature professor picks the perfect time to enter.
"Let us begin from last week's lesson," the thin and gray, round spectacled man marches to the podium, voice amplifying throughout the lecture hall. "Hamlet's greatest soliloquy, can anyone enunciate the passage for me?"
Baekhyun is the first to raise his hand; Tao rolls his eyes as he opens his textbook.
"To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune..."
Tuning out Baekhyun's voice and the professors hums of praise, Tao reads on ahead; finger gently brushing over the words of one of the most famous passages written from the Old Elizabethan Era.
But a sudden frown mars his forehead, his finger stilling at a certain line; the words rendering a knot of unease in his stomach.
...To sleep, perchance to dream -ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil...
The unexpected discomfort and anxiety that delved into his body, Tao couldn't understand it. He felt that knot tighten in the pit of his stomach as cold sweat enveloped him like second skin. As his mind reels into the shield of his memories, his dreams, a bittersweet aftertaste lingered on his tongue.
...Feather light touches that left a burning trail in its wake. Soft and sweet, yet addictive and rough; his body radiated protection and tenderness.
"I love you. I love you. I love you." The deepness of the voice took him under. The happy lit and adoration that laced around the words brought a smile to grace upon delighted lips.
Inseparable, irreversibly and perfectly matched; they belonged together, and that thought alone overwhelmed him with proud admiration filled with silent bliss....
Blinking out of the unexpected reverie, Tao drowns the rising flush of his cheeks. The remembrance of such a vivid dream, left startling emotions in its wake. Clearing his throat, Tao taps his fingers along the proverbial words in the book; ...in that sleep of death what dreams may come...
He sighs, eyes narrowing as a fluttering beat ripples through his chest. He couldn't understand it, these constant dreams of euphoric sighs and murmurs of wanton pleasure; where were they from? what conjured them?
In his desperate attempts to decipher these dreams, Tao had once absurdly thought that, maybe, these were memories of his past life.
Impossible, he would think, the idea disappearing as quickly as it came. But other than nonsensical analysis and illogical conclusions, Tao was lost; forever abandoned to wade in deep waters of such overpowering dreams.
¤
-part2.fin.
3.
...Tao closes his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun; basking in the lazy afternoon heat.
Smooth hands stroke his hair, as his head comfortably lies upon a steady lap.
"The flowers are blooming beautifully," a voice murmurs, hands suddenly stilling in mid-stroke; fingers playfully resting against his sensitive skin.
Squinting, the brightness of the sky blinding him, he shields his eyes and stares ahead. A breeze rolls by, ruffling the grass and the leaves of the fruit-bearing tree above them. Disturbed by the sudden wind, white petals dance down towards the two men; freely twirling down to earth in its last moment of independence.
"Very beautiful," Tao voices, shifting his gaze from the sky, and to the man that stared down at him.
Confidence and character shone through the rich, depthless eyes, as a bundle of glinting adoration caught the light of the sun. Honesty and mirth outlined the corners of the lips, as one could not forgo the delicate grace that was present; the appeal and beauty of this person could never be compared.
And it never failed to take Tao's breath away.
"...WuFan," Tao murmurs, hand raised to caress the smooth skin of WuFan's smiling cheeks, "...you are all mine."
Unfazed by the sudden claim, a blinding smile breaks part WuFan's lavish lips.
"With no falsehood..." the words ring, clear and true; sending a shower of desire and awareness coursing through Tao's resting body. "...as you are also, mine."
Lips lean over to touch its lost pair in a slow, unmeasured kiss of muted longing....
¤
"Nice to meet you."
It was a rich voice that enunciated each word with a dignified tone. It casted a brooding blanket over Tao, and he suddenly found his mind short-circuiting and body involuntarily tensing in utter surprise. As his skin prickled with a feeling of what one would call déjà-vu, he suddenly lost his ability to speak, unable to utter a reply as his fingers wrapped tightly around his doorknob; his bare toes squirming as he stood thinly clothed in his apartment doorway.
Biting his lips in an action only done in nervousness, Tao clears his throat and, with flickering glances, hesitantly meets the strangers eyes; his heart unknowingly thrumming with strained anticipation.
"...nice to meet you, I'm Tao."
He stifled a groan; he sounded so lame.
"If you need anything, just ask," Tao clears his throat and finds it difficult to maintain eye contact with this tall man, "what are neighbors for, right?"
Their eyes finally lock, and with no warning, Tao felt like he got the wind knocked out of him.
The familiarity; the knowledge that he had seen those same pair of thoughtful eyes somewhere before, stirred the latent feelings and hidden thoughts in him. Maybe it was the perfectly chiseled face, maybe it was the attractive smile, or maybe it was the integrity that reflected off the profound orbs of black.
Although it didn't quite matter; because Tao swore he heard something click together. It was as if puzzle pieces were strewn across the floor, to only land in its rightful places by pure chance and luck.
Or maybe it was fate.
"Tao," the stranger mumbles to himself, eyes cast downwards in contemplating thought before meeting Tao's curious gaze once more. His ethereal looks brighten as the slight pout of his lips spread into a gorgeous, nullifying smile.
"You can call me Kris."
¤
-part 3.fin.