Taohan - Sketchbook Romance
Title: Sketchbook Romance
Rating: PG
Pairing: Tao / Lu Han
Warnings: Disgustingly disgusting hipster fluffy
Genre: Fluff, romance
Disclaimer: I do not own EXO.
Lu Han snuggles further into the massive scarf around his neck, trying to protect his chin and cheeks from the crispy cold air, sketchbook clutched in one hand, and a steaming cup of coffee in the other. He glances at his side, at Tao who's looking around himself, camera bag hanging from one shoulder, a cup of steaming liquid contents in his hand too.
Lu Han smiles as he thinks they're the stereotypical pictures of art-students, walking through the city towards a park on a chilly, sunny autumn day, completed with the coffee and the large glasses perched on his own nose. Someone scoffs something about hipsters when they pass by, but the two simply share a glance and chuckle.
When they enter the park and find the perfect spot near a small pond, Lu Han sits down on a bench while Zi Tao wanders a little closer to the water. The blond studies his friend for a moment before opening a blank page from his sketchbook and pulling a pencil out of his bag. A slight smile tugs the corners of his lips as the younger male slips and almost falls, arms flailing in every possible direction before he regains his balance. The black-haired photography student shoots a sheepish grin over his shoulder, and Lu Han answers it, a pleasant warmth bubbling in his chest. He sighs, and presses a hand against his chest, rubbing it gently, as if trying to rid it of the feeling that's both lovely and sad.
Let me tell you a few things of Lu Han. Lu Han is a nice young man. A very pleasant one, to be completely honest. A hardworking, responsible individual, friendly and sociable with pretty much everyone around him. There's not a soul that would dislike Lu han, really. To top his extremely nice personality, he also happens to be very smart, high above the average with his looks, and a gifted young artist.
Lu Han likes little things in life. Things like a rainy afternoon with good company, a warm sweater and a cup of tea. Things like socks that don't have holes in them. Good food, nice long walks, working air conditioning, good quality paper, bubble tea. Things like that. Many things.
But there are a few things Lu Han actually loves. If you asked him, he'd tell you three things. First of all, he loves days when there's strong, cold sunlight, and some clouds, days when the lighting looks more dramatic than usually on everything. Second, he loves a well made caramel latte. Third, and most of all, he loves drawing Zi Tao. He loves drawing anything Zi Tao does, any part of his body, any expression on his face. He loves sketching the younger student when he doesn't notice, loves drawing his face when he's fallen asleep on his desk in the middle of a class.
Lu Han will tell everything to you with a warm smile on his face, and he won't be embarrassed when talking about drawing Zi Tao. After all, he'll explain, Zi Tao has some of the most fascinating facial features he has ever seen, with his eyebags, thin lips and dark eyes. He just likes the way shadows catch onto the boy's features.
What Lu Han won't tell you, though, is that there's a fourth thing he loves. This he loves the most, even more than spending hours drawing a detailed portrait of Zi Tao reading a silly romance novel.
Lu Han loves, adores, absolutely worships Zi Tao. Not as a model, not as shades of gray on paper, not even as a friend. No, he is in love with the black-haired photographer, in the most sappy, corny, romantic way possible.
Lu Han loves Zi Tao in a way that makes him want to hold the boy when he sleeps, to kiss him in secret and in public, gently and passionately, to embrace him and whisper how much more art-like everything becomes when he's around. Lu Han wants to draw every single thing Zi Tao does, every single expression he makes, every single posture he takes, and keep the drawings to himself, lock them in a drawer and hide the key so he can have them to himself only, only for his eyes.
He sighs, again, and takes a gulp of his latte before setting the cup on the bench. He directs his eyes at the boy that's now crouching on the ground, snapping pictures of something in front of him that Lu Han can't exactly see. He sketches, fast, soft moves of pencil against paper, and gently smudges the line with his finger. Zi Tao changes his posture, and Lu Han starts another sketch, second roughly drawn Zi Tao appearing next to the first one. He smiles at the pictures, at how easy it's become to draw his favorite model after observing him for so long. He knows the way Zi Tao's muscles flex when he stretches his arm out, is able to set everything in proportion so that, unlike ten months ago, his arms don't look too long, or his back too short anymore.
It has been over a year since Zi Tao started in the Seoul College of Visual Arts, over a year since they got to know each other in Mr. Cho's color studies class. It had taken Lu Han two months to work up the courage to ask Zi Tao to model for him, since he was on his last year of studies and needed to find a model partner for a class.
Sometimes Lu Han wonders what it would be like if he finally confessed. If it would ruin their friendship, or if Zi Tao would actually agree on going out with him. He doubted, though. The younger artist was always busy, always running from one place to another, from place A to place B, from B to C to D. Photographs, photographs, photographs, work, work, work. The only times he seemed to stop were the afternoons, evenings and sometimes nights he spent at Lu Han's apartment, simply too tired to go home, both of them content on the couch with a movie, Zi Tao's head on Lu Han's lap as he quickly falls asleep. Lu Han always stays awake through the movies though, an unconscious smile on his lips as he plays with Zi Tao's hair.
There's a chuckle, and Lu Han looks up, just to notice he's drifted off - a bad habit of his, to be honest - and Zi Tao is standing in front of him, an amused smile on his lips. ”Earth to Lu Han-gege” he laughs ”you've been spacing out for ages. Drink your coffee before it's completely cold.”
Lu Han doesn't answer, simply nods and does as he's told as the other male sits down next to him. They're sitting close enough for their thighs to be squeezed against each other's, but then again, it's cold and Zi Tao has always liked skinship. Lu Han is waiting for the younger to lean against his shoulder and humm contently, but the familiar weight never settles against him. He raises an eyebrow and looks at the photographer, who is, for some reason, frowning.
”Taozi, is something wrong?” he asks, slightly worried as Zi Tao takes a gulp of his chai latte. There's a moment of silence, but after swallowing and letting out a heavy sigh the younger of the two answers.
”Ge, I'm... I wanted to talk to you about something. I'm not sure if you know it already, though, so please don't laugh at me if you do.”
Lu Han nods, smiles encouragingly. He has no idea what might be coming next, but he knows that whatever it is, he's going to keep supporting Tao if that's what the boy needs.
”I, um... I know we've never really talked about this stuff, but... I like boys” Zi Tao huffs the last part, looking bothered and embarrassed. Lu Han blinks. Twice. He didn't know what to expect, but, well... Definitely not this. It's true they don't talk about romantic stuff - they've mentioned their ideal types sometime, at some stupid game, and talked about perfect dates or so, but romantic subjects aren't exactly what they discuss.
Zi Tao glances at him, and it's now that Lu Han notices the bewildered expression in his eyes - he looks scared. It takes the older of them another few seconds to realize why his friend might be scared, so he rushes to answer: ”I like boys too.”
Now it's Zi Tao's turn to blink, and there's a shy smile on his lips as he looks down on his cup of chai. ”Good, I guess. I was kind of afraid you'd dislike me after I came out to you.” Lu Han laughs, a light, heartful laugh that lets Zi Tao know exactly how absurd that thought had been. ”I could never dislike you, Taozi” he laughs, then goes serious and thoughtful ”well, okay, that's a lie. If the pandas went extinct because of you, I might dislike you. But not because of something like coming out.”
Zi Tao rolls his eyes and leans to peek at the traditional art major's sketchbook. He pouts. ”Only two today, gege? You've been lazy” he teases, poking the older boy's side.
Lu Han whines and swats the imposing hand away. ”I was thinking about deep and important matters that you wouldn't understand, thank you very much. Show me your pictures then, Mr. Hardworking.”
Zi Tao simply grins and stands up. ”Nope. Maybe tomorrow, now I need to go home.” Lu Han looks up at the boy, eyes wide with confusion. ”But- didn't you say we could stay out until five? It's only three.”
The younger boy smiles apologetically. ”I know. I'm sorry, ge. But this is important. I want you to do me a favor, too, okay?” Lu Han nods, a little upset that he's getting ditched like this. Zi Tao continues: ”go home, open your computer, and stay online. And check your mail immediately when you get something, don't let it be and forget about it, you always do that.”
The blond is rather confused by this request, but decides to humor his friend anyway, so he nods. Zi Tao beams down at him, and hoists his camerabag on his shoulder. ”Thanks, ge! I'm sorry I have to go, but I really have to hurry - go home now! I'll see you tomorrow!”
Lu Han doesn't even have the time to say bye before Zi Tao has bolted in the direction of the park's gates, most likely to catch the next bus home. He sighs, and looks down at the two sketches. He had been wishing to fill at least three pages today, but that would have to wait, apparently. Figuring that since his model was gone anyway he could just go straight home, he got up from the bench and headed out of the park.
Four hours later Lu Han is restless. He had taken a long route and walked home, which was unusual since he usually took the bus, done some grocery shopping, and made himself a cup of tea. He had tried watching cartoons, reading comics, finishing school work - nothing seemed to calm him down.
It was weird. Zi Tao coming out to him so suddenly, and then asking him to stay online and check his mail. He figures the kid was going to send him something, but what on Earth could it be? Why couldn't it wait until he actually checked his e-mail? Because he'd get the reply during the next millenium, that's why he answers himself half a second later, and cringes. He has a bad habit of not checking his e-mail regularly. (Read: ever.)
Sighing, Lu Han changes the channel on the TV and sips his tea, cringing straight after as he realizes it's gone cold. There are few things he really dislikes, but luke warm tea is definitely one of them. Stupid Tao he thhinks, eyebrows drawn together in a frustrated scowl as he walks into the kitchen and flushes the tea down the drain it's his fault my tea got cold. This better be damn importa-
Lu Han's train of thought is interrupted as a familiar 'bling' is heard from the speakers of his computer. He scoffs. Probably another announcement from eBay or something like that, he has gotten three of those during the hours waiting for whatever it is he is waiting for. So, without any care in the world, he proceeds to boil more water and gets out a new teabag. Even if it is Zi Tao's Very Important Message, surely it can wait fifteen minutes for his tea to be ready. Also, another sandwich sounds like a good idea.
Exactly eighteen minutes later Lu Han sits down in front of his laptop again, a nice warm cup of tea in his right hand and a sandwich in the other. Now fairly content the art student clicks his inbox open - and is about to choke on his tea when he notices that, yes, the message is in fact from Zi Tao, with the subject ”To my favorite gege”.
Suddenly very nervous, Lu Han sets his cup on the table, noticing the message has a huge file attached to it. For the second time that day he has no idea what to expect. The file has to contain pictures, that he is sure about, there's no way it could be that big otherwise, unless it contains a video and the file format isn't a video one. He braces himself, and opens the file.
It's pictures, yes. A slideshow of photographs - to be exact, a slideshow of photographs of him. He browses through the pictures in awe, looking at how they gradually get better. The first ones have been taken a year ago, when his hair had still been black and rather long. There are pictures of him sitting in class, sleeping in class, drooling on his art history book (he cringes and makes a mental note to make sure Zi Tao doesn't have a camera with him during their shared classes), sitting in the courtyard, chatting with friends - in that one he's patting Yixing on the back, in the other ruffling Minseok's hair -, pretty much of everything he does during normal days. Pointless, normal things, and somehow they look like art.
There are pictures of him with Zi Tao between the individual shots. He smiles, the familiar feeling of ticklish, melancholy heat lazily spreading inside his chest. They look good together, Zi Tao and him - the other one dark with sharp features, and the other blond with face all soft shapes and big eyes. Kind of like Yin and Yang, however cliché and stupid it sounds.
The pictures gradually grow more recent. Seasons change in the backgrounds, his hair gets first shorter and then goes from black to orange to blond, his glasses change from small ones to big ones. Zi Tao stays the same, appearing in the pictures from time to time beside or behind Lu Han.
Lu Han remembers many of those pictures. Some were taken at friends' birthday parties, on picnics, in school events - he remembers posing with his friends, always trying to (pathetically) avoid standing next to Wu Fan since the guy is a damn tree, and trying to (pathetically) stand next to Zi Tao who unfortunately usually decids to be on his knees in front of everyone else when he isn't behind the camera.
However, most of these pictures he has never seen. There's most likely at least a hundred and fifty photographs of which he recognizes around thirty. He's had no idea Zi Tao has had a camera with him when they have been playing soccer last spring with the guys. He's also had no idea how Zi Tao has gotten his bigass camera hidden so well from him, but then again, he's always been convinced the kid is a ninja. This only strenghtens his beliefs.
Lu Han stops at one certain picture, and squints. Somehow it looks awfully familiar - a picture of him sitting on a bench, a cup of coffee next to him, a sketchbook in his hands, and that scarf-
It takes him a few moments to realize the picture has been taken on that same day, most likely only around five hours before. Now even more confused than before, he clicks forward, and finds himself staring at a picture of Zi Tao.
A picture of Zi Tao holding a white paper, peeking from behind it.
A white paper that says:
Lu Han-gege, I've liked you for so long
Go out with me?
He stares.
And stares.
And stares, and stares, and stares.
It couldn't be true, really - surely he read wrong, surely there is something he's misunderstanding, maybe because of Zi Tao's messy handwriting-
He knows it's not true, though. Zi Tao's handwriting has always been beautiful and extremely pleasant to read, and there's never been a danger of misunderstanding something he wants to say. And so the bubbly warmth in his chest explodes into a rush of lava, scorching in his veins, heating up his neck and face as he lets the reality set in.
Smiling to himself, he reaches for his sketchbook and the nearest pencil.
Zi Tao is anxious. It's been an hour and a half since he sent the e-mail, after photoshopping pictures for two hours and re-considering his decision for another one hour. He's liked Lu Han for months, and had suddenly realized that there's only half a year until the older student completes his studies in the college and heads out to the world.
It's now or never, he had told himself when pressing the send-button, and has been anxiously surfing the internet and TV channels ever since. Disappointment is slowly settling in - Lu Han is most likely taking so long because he can't come up with a polite way to reject the confession. Maybe he even likes someone else.
Zi Tao groans, and lets his head drop into his hands. He's made everything awkward, Lu Han is never going to want to spend time around him alone anymore, and he actually has to draw his ass home during Mondays and Thursdays now since spending the night at Lu Han's will obviously be impossib-
His head jolts up from his hands so fast his neck makes a nasty crack, but it doesn't really matter since his computer had just made a ”pling” sound and he knows what that means, and what it means is you've got mail.
Zi Tao's hands are shaking as he opens the mail that is, indeed, from Lu Han, and clicks the file attached to it.
It's a scan of a sketch - a sketch of Lu Han, grinning and holding a paper that says:
Zi Tao, I've liked you for so much longer.
Be gege's own, okay?
Forty-five minutes later Lu Han is staring at his laptop screen, frustrated and confused as there's still no answer from Zi Tao. Maybe he should worry? The boy had been online in Weibo just an hour ago, so he couldn't understand where he could have disappeared to. It's of course possible that his parents came up with something for him to do, but if he recalls correctly they should be currently out of the to-
The doorbell rings.
Lu Han's hands shake as he opens the door, but all his worries are wiped away as a breathless Zi Tao looks at him, chest heaving most likely from running up eight hundred meters from the bus stop and then seven flights of stairs.
Zi Tao pants, grinning as he pushes his bangs back from his forehead. He smiles, dark eyes sparkling, and huffs out a short laugh. ”Okay.”
And that is when Lu Han pushes the kid against a wall and finally, finally kisses him, smiling as he thinks he's never loved art as much as he does now.
A/N: This sucks. The title sucks. The ending sucks. I SUCK OK: I really like Taohan why couldn't I write anything proper sob.
Rating: PG
Pairing: Tao / Lu Han
Warnings: Disgustingly disgusting hipster fluffy
Genre: Fluff, romance
Disclaimer: I do not own EXO.
Lu Han snuggles further into the massive scarf around his neck, trying to protect his chin and cheeks from the crispy cold air, sketchbook clutched in one hand, and a steaming cup of coffee in the other. He glances at his side, at Tao who's looking around himself, camera bag hanging from one shoulder, a cup of steaming liquid contents in his hand too.
Lu Han smiles as he thinks they're the stereotypical pictures of art-students, walking through the city towards a park on a chilly, sunny autumn day, completed with the coffee and the large glasses perched on his own nose. Someone scoffs something about hipsters when they pass by, but the two simply share a glance and chuckle.
When they enter the park and find the perfect spot near a small pond, Lu Han sits down on a bench while Zi Tao wanders a little closer to the water. The blond studies his friend for a moment before opening a blank page from his sketchbook and pulling a pencil out of his bag. A slight smile tugs the corners of his lips as the younger male slips and almost falls, arms flailing in every possible direction before he regains his balance. The black-haired photography student shoots a sheepish grin over his shoulder, and Lu Han answers it, a pleasant warmth bubbling in his chest. He sighs, and presses a hand against his chest, rubbing it gently, as if trying to rid it of the feeling that's both lovely and sad.
Let me tell you a few things of Lu Han. Lu Han is a nice young man. A very pleasant one, to be completely honest. A hardworking, responsible individual, friendly and sociable with pretty much everyone around him. There's not a soul that would dislike Lu han, really. To top his extremely nice personality, he also happens to be very smart, high above the average with his looks, and a gifted young artist.
Lu Han likes little things in life. Things like a rainy afternoon with good company, a warm sweater and a cup of tea. Things like socks that don't have holes in them. Good food, nice long walks, working air conditioning, good quality paper, bubble tea. Things like that. Many things.
But there are a few things Lu Han actually loves. If you asked him, he'd tell you three things. First of all, he loves days when there's strong, cold sunlight, and some clouds, days when the lighting looks more dramatic than usually on everything. Second, he loves a well made caramel latte. Third, and most of all, he loves drawing Zi Tao. He loves drawing anything Zi Tao does, any part of his body, any expression on his face. He loves sketching the younger student when he doesn't notice, loves drawing his face when he's fallen asleep on his desk in the middle of a class.
Lu Han will tell everything to you with a warm smile on his face, and he won't be embarrassed when talking about drawing Zi Tao. After all, he'll explain, Zi Tao has some of the most fascinating facial features he has ever seen, with his eyebags, thin lips and dark eyes. He just likes the way shadows catch onto the boy's features.
What Lu Han won't tell you, though, is that there's a fourth thing he loves. This he loves the most, even more than spending hours drawing a detailed portrait of Zi Tao reading a silly romance novel.
Lu Han loves, adores, absolutely worships Zi Tao. Not as a model, not as shades of gray on paper, not even as a friend. No, he is in love with the black-haired photographer, in the most sappy, corny, romantic way possible.
Lu Han loves Zi Tao in a way that makes him want to hold the boy when he sleeps, to kiss him in secret and in public, gently and passionately, to embrace him and whisper how much more art-like everything becomes when he's around. Lu Han wants to draw every single thing Zi Tao does, every single expression he makes, every single posture he takes, and keep the drawings to himself, lock them in a drawer and hide the key so he can have them to himself only, only for his eyes.
He sighs, again, and takes a gulp of his latte before setting the cup on the bench. He directs his eyes at the boy that's now crouching on the ground, snapping pictures of something in front of him that Lu Han can't exactly see. He sketches, fast, soft moves of pencil against paper, and gently smudges the line with his finger. Zi Tao changes his posture, and Lu Han starts another sketch, second roughly drawn Zi Tao appearing next to the first one. He smiles at the pictures, at how easy it's become to draw his favorite model after observing him for so long. He knows the way Zi Tao's muscles flex when he stretches his arm out, is able to set everything in proportion so that, unlike ten months ago, his arms don't look too long, or his back too short anymore.
It has been over a year since Zi Tao started in the Seoul College of Visual Arts, over a year since they got to know each other in Mr. Cho's color studies class. It had taken Lu Han two months to work up the courage to ask Zi Tao to model for him, since he was on his last year of studies and needed to find a model partner for a class.
Sometimes Lu Han wonders what it would be like if he finally confessed. If it would ruin their friendship, or if Zi Tao would actually agree on going out with him. He doubted, though. The younger artist was always busy, always running from one place to another, from place A to place B, from B to C to D. Photographs, photographs, photographs, work, work, work. The only times he seemed to stop were the afternoons, evenings and sometimes nights he spent at Lu Han's apartment, simply too tired to go home, both of them content on the couch with a movie, Zi Tao's head on Lu Han's lap as he quickly falls asleep. Lu Han always stays awake through the movies though, an unconscious smile on his lips as he plays with Zi Tao's hair.
There's a chuckle, and Lu Han looks up, just to notice he's drifted off - a bad habit of his, to be honest - and Zi Tao is standing in front of him, an amused smile on his lips. ”Earth to Lu Han-gege” he laughs ”you've been spacing out for ages. Drink your coffee before it's completely cold.”
Lu Han doesn't answer, simply nods and does as he's told as the other male sits down next to him. They're sitting close enough for their thighs to be squeezed against each other's, but then again, it's cold and Zi Tao has always liked skinship. Lu Han is waiting for the younger to lean against his shoulder and humm contently, but the familiar weight never settles against him. He raises an eyebrow and looks at the photographer, who is, for some reason, frowning.
”Taozi, is something wrong?” he asks, slightly worried as Zi Tao takes a gulp of his chai latte. There's a moment of silence, but after swallowing and letting out a heavy sigh the younger of the two answers.
”Ge, I'm... I wanted to talk to you about something. I'm not sure if you know it already, though, so please don't laugh at me if you do.”
Lu Han nods, smiles encouragingly. He has no idea what might be coming next, but he knows that whatever it is, he's going to keep supporting Tao if that's what the boy needs.
”I, um... I know we've never really talked about this stuff, but... I like boys” Zi Tao huffs the last part, looking bothered and embarrassed. Lu Han blinks. Twice. He didn't know what to expect, but, well... Definitely not this. It's true they don't talk about romantic stuff - they've mentioned their ideal types sometime, at some stupid game, and talked about perfect dates or so, but romantic subjects aren't exactly what they discuss.
Zi Tao glances at him, and it's now that Lu Han notices the bewildered expression in his eyes - he looks scared. It takes the older of them another few seconds to realize why his friend might be scared, so he rushes to answer: ”I like boys too.”
Now it's Zi Tao's turn to blink, and there's a shy smile on his lips as he looks down on his cup of chai. ”Good, I guess. I was kind of afraid you'd dislike me after I came out to you.” Lu Han laughs, a light, heartful laugh that lets Zi Tao know exactly how absurd that thought had been. ”I could never dislike you, Taozi” he laughs, then goes serious and thoughtful ”well, okay, that's a lie. If the pandas went extinct because of you, I might dislike you. But not because of something like coming out.”
Zi Tao rolls his eyes and leans to peek at the traditional art major's sketchbook. He pouts. ”Only two today, gege? You've been lazy” he teases, poking the older boy's side.
Lu Han whines and swats the imposing hand away. ”I was thinking about deep and important matters that you wouldn't understand, thank you very much. Show me your pictures then, Mr. Hardworking.”
Zi Tao simply grins and stands up. ”Nope. Maybe tomorrow, now I need to go home.” Lu Han looks up at the boy, eyes wide with confusion. ”But- didn't you say we could stay out until five? It's only three.”
The younger boy smiles apologetically. ”I know. I'm sorry, ge. But this is important. I want you to do me a favor, too, okay?” Lu Han nods, a little upset that he's getting ditched like this. Zi Tao continues: ”go home, open your computer, and stay online. And check your mail immediately when you get something, don't let it be and forget about it, you always do that.”
The blond is rather confused by this request, but decides to humor his friend anyway, so he nods. Zi Tao beams down at him, and hoists his camerabag on his shoulder. ”Thanks, ge! I'm sorry I have to go, but I really have to hurry - go home now! I'll see you tomorrow!”
Lu Han doesn't even have the time to say bye before Zi Tao has bolted in the direction of the park's gates, most likely to catch the next bus home. He sighs, and looks down at the two sketches. He had been wishing to fill at least three pages today, but that would have to wait, apparently. Figuring that since his model was gone anyway he could just go straight home, he got up from the bench and headed out of the park.
Four hours later Lu Han is restless. He had taken a long route and walked home, which was unusual since he usually took the bus, done some grocery shopping, and made himself a cup of tea. He had tried watching cartoons, reading comics, finishing school work - nothing seemed to calm him down.
It was weird. Zi Tao coming out to him so suddenly, and then asking him to stay online and check his mail. He figures the kid was going to send him something, but what on Earth could it be? Why couldn't it wait until he actually checked his e-mail? Because he'd get the reply during the next millenium, that's why he answers himself half a second later, and cringes. He has a bad habit of not checking his e-mail regularly. (Read: ever.)
Sighing, Lu Han changes the channel on the TV and sips his tea, cringing straight after as he realizes it's gone cold. There are few things he really dislikes, but luke warm tea is definitely one of them. Stupid Tao he thhinks, eyebrows drawn together in a frustrated scowl as he walks into the kitchen and flushes the tea down the drain it's his fault my tea got cold. This better be damn importa-
Lu Han's train of thought is interrupted as a familiar 'bling' is heard from the speakers of his computer. He scoffs. Probably another announcement from eBay or something like that, he has gotten three of those during the hours waiting for whatever it is he is waiting for. So, without any care in the world, he proceeds to boil more water and gets out a new teabag. Even if it is Zi Tao's Very Important Message, surely it can wait fifteen minutes for his tea to be ready. Also, another sandwich sounds like a good idea.
Exactly eighteen minutes later Lu Han sits down in front of his laptop again, a nice warm cup of tea in his right hand and a sandwich in the other. Now fairly content the art student clicks his inbox open - and is about to choke on his tea when he notices that, yes, the message is in fact from Zi Tao, with the subject ”To my favorite gege”.
Suddenly very nervous, Lu Han sets his cup on the table, noticing the message has a huge file attached to it. For the second time that day he has no idea what to expect. The file has to contain pictures, that he is sure about, there's no way it could be that big otherwise, unless it contains a video and the file format isn't a video one. He braces himself, and opens the file.
It's pictures, yes. A slideshow of photographs - to be exact, a slideshow of photographs of him. He browses through the pictures in awe, looking at how they gradually get better. The first ones have been taken a year ago, when his hair had still been black and rather long. There are pictures of him sitting in class, sleeping in class, drooling on his art history book (he cringes and makes a mental note to make sure Zi Tao doesn't have a camera with him during their shared classes), sitting in the courtyard, chatting with friends - in that one he's patting Yixing on the back, in the other ruffling Minseok's hair -, pretty much of everything he does during normal days. Pointless, normal things, and somehow they look like art.
There are pictures of him with Zi Tao between the individual shots. He smiles, the familiar feeling of ticklish, melancholy heat lazily spreading inside his chest. They look good together, Zi Tao and him - the other one dark with sharp features, and the other blond with face all soft shapes and big eyes. Kind of like Yin and Yang, however cliché and stupid it sounds.
The pictures gradually grow more recent. Seasons change in the backgrounds, his hair gets first shorter and then goes from black to orange to blond, his glasses change from small ones to big ones. Zi Tao stays the same, appearing in the pictures from time to time beside or behind Lu Han.
Lu Han remembers many of those pictures. Some were taken at friends' birthday parties, on picnics, in school events - he remembers posing with his friends, always trying to (pathetically) avoid standing next to Wu Fan since the guy is a damn tree, and trying to (pathetically) stand next to Zi Tao who unfortunately usually decids to be on his knees in front of everyone else when he isn't behind the camera.
However, most of these pictures he has never seen. There's most likely at least a hundred and fifty photographs of which he recognizes around thirty. He's had no idea Zi Tao has had a camera with him when they have been playing soccer last spring with the guys. He's also had no idea how Zi Tao has gotten his bigass camera hidden so well from him, but then again, he's always been convinced the kid is a ninja. This only strenghtens his beliefs.
Lu Han stops at one certain picture, and squints. Somehow it looks awfully familiar - a picture of him sitting on a bench, a cup of coffee next to him, a sketchbook in his hands, and that scarf-
It takes him a few moments to realize the picture has been taken on that same day, most likely only around five hours before. Now even more confused than before, he clicks forward, and finds himself staring at a picture of Zi Tao.
A picture of Zi Tao holding a white paper, peeking from behind it.
A white paper that says:
Lu Han-gege, I've liked you for so long
Go out with me?
He stares.
And stares.
And stares, and stares, and stares.
It couldn't be true, really - surely he read wrong, surely there is something he's misunderstanding, maybe because of Zi Tao's messy handwriting-
He knows it's not true, though. Zi Tao's handwriting has always been beautiful and extremely pleasant to read, and there's never been a danger of misunderstanding something he wants to say. And so the bubbly warmth in his chest explodes into a rush of lava, scorching in his veins, heating up his neck and face as he lets the reality set in.
Smiling to himself, he reaches for his sketchbook and the nearest pencil.
Zi Tao is anxious. It's been an hour and a half since he sent the e-mail, after photoshopping pictures for two hours and re-considering his decision for another one hour. He's liked Lu Han for months, and had suddenly realized that there's only half a year until the older student completes his studies in the college and heads out to the world.
It's now or never, he had told himself when pressing the send-button, and has been anxiously surfing the internet and TV channels ever since. Disappointment is slowly settling in - Lu Han is most likely taking so long because he can't come up with a polite way to reject the confession. Maybe he even likes someone else.
Zi Tao groans, and lets his head drop into his hands. He's made everything awkward, Lu Han is never going to want to spend time around him alone anymore, and he actually has to draw his ass home during Mondays and Thursdays now since spending the night at Lu Han's will obviously be impossib-
His head jolts up from his hands so fast his neck makes a nasty crack, but it doesn't really matter since his computer had just made a ”pling” sound and he knows what that means, and what it means is you've got mail.
Zi Tao's hands are shaking as he opens the mail that is, indeed, from Lu Han, and clicks the file attached to it.
It's a scan of a sketch - a sketch of Lu Han, grinning and holding a paper that says:
Zi Tao, I've liked you for so much longer.
Be gege's own, okay?
Forty-five minutes later Lu Han is staring at his laptop screen, frustrated and confused as there's still no answer from Zi Tao. Maybe he should worry? The boy had been online in Weibo just an hour ago, so he couldn't understand where he could have disappeared to. It's of course possible that his parents came up with something for him to do, but if he recalls correctly they should be currently out of the to-
The doorbell rings.
Lu Han's hands shake as he opens the door, but all his worries are wiped away as a breathless Zi Tao looks at him, chest heaving most likely from running up eight hundred meters from the bus stop and then seven flights of stairs.
Zi Tao pants, grinning as he pushes his bangs back from his forehead. He smiles, dark eyes sparkling, and huffs out a short laugh. ”Okay.”
And that is when Lu Han pushes the kid against a wall and finally, finally kisses him, smiling as he thinks he's never loved art as much as he does now.
A/N: This sucks. The title sucks. The ending sucks. I SUCK OK: I really like Taohan why couldn't I write anything proper sob.